House to vote as Trump struggles to defuse Epstein issue
| Washington
The House is expected to pass a bill Tuesday to require the Trump administration to release all files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a milestone moment for an issue that just won鈥檛 go away for President Donald Trump.
After fighting the bill鈥檚 passage for months, and facing certain defeat, the president threw his support behind it at the last minute on Sunday. 鈥淲e have nothing to hide, and it鈥檚 time to move on,鈥� he declared.
Mr. Trump鈥檚 eleventh-hour support for the bill helps mask House Republicans鈥� first major rebuke of the president since he returned to office in January. Dozens were expected to break with the White House and vote for the bill,聽to address public demand for information about Mr. Epstein鈥檚 ties with elite Americans, including Mr. Trump. (Mr. Epstein died in prison in August 2019.)聽And it comes amid a rough few weeks for the president. Declining poll numbers, economic headwinds, and rough recent elections for the GOP have sent him seeking a reset on bread-and-butter issues 鈥� messaging that he has repeatedly groused the Epstein issue is distracting from.
Why We Wrote This
The House is set to pass a bill calling to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. It represents House Republicans鈥� first major break with President Trump this year 鈥� a divide that鈥檚 hidden somewhat by his last-minute support for the measure.
鈥淟et the Senate look at it, let anybody look at it, but don鈥檛 talk about it too much,鈥� he said on Monday at the White House, claiming 鈥渢he whole thing is a hoax鈥� meant to distract from his economic accomplishments.
鈥淎ll I do care about is that Republicans get BACK ON POINT, which is the Economy,鈥� on Sunday evening.
The president could easily order the release of the files himself. His steadfast refusal to do that, after repeatedly promising to do so during his 2024 presidential campaign, has led to a nagging problem with voters across party lines. That includes a significant subset of his Make America Great Again supporters, who have long obsessed over Mr. Epstein鈥檚 crimes and believe they are part of a much vaster conspiracy. More than three-quarters of Americans, including two-thirds of Republicans, want all the files related to Mr. Epstein released, a PBS News/NPR/Marist poll released in October.
The issue has clearly animated a portion of the MAGA base, which, for the first time, is at odds with their movement鈥檚 leader. Republican strategist Doug Heye says that deep concern over the matter 鈥渉as always been there in the core of the Trump base鈥� and won鈥檛 go away.
Mr. Heye cites on-the-ground evidence of this with President Trump鈥檚 hard-line supporters. Last summer, the strategist was in Lake Ozark, Missouri, a deep-red rural vacation spot, and popped into a store called Teresa鈥檚 Trump Shop. He asked the woman working that day about releasing the Epstein files. Her response: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the holdup?鈥�
Rising pressure for a House vote
The issue has put Mr. Trump at odds with a large swath of his supporters ever since the Justice Department released a two-page memo on July 7 stating that no 鈥渃lient list鈥� exists, and the president urged his backers to move on.
Shortly thereafter, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky teamed to organize a discharge petition in an effort to go around Republican Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana. With 218 votes, a simple majority of the House, the bipartisan duo could force a vote on the , which would require the Justice Department 鈥渢o publish (in a searchable and downloadable format) all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in DOJ鈥檚 possession that relate to the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein.鈥� The bill has received powerful support from many of Mr. Epstein鈥檚 victims.
Mr. Massie, as well as the other three Republicans who voted with all 214 Democrats in favor of the petition 鈥� Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia 鈥� have all faced sharp criticism from the White House.
Mr. Trump is backing a primary challenger against Mr. Massie, and on Friday, the president that he was withdrawing his endorsement from 鈥溾�榃acky鈥� Marjorie,鈥� an erstwhile close ally who has recently opposed the president on several issues. Administration officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, in the Situation Room last week in an effort to persuade her to withdraw her support for the discharge petition. Ms. Mace, who is currently running for governor in South Carolina, also reportedly faced pressure to remove her name from the petition.
When appearing , Mr. Massie said Tuesday鈥檚 vote could have 鈥渁 deluge of Republicans鈥� voting in favor, potentially 鈥�100 or more.鈥�
Mr. Trump鈥檚 about-face and last-minute support is a relief for many House Republicans.
鈥淟ast week, it was concerning, because there would have been a lot of divisions,鈥� says a House GOP operative who asked for anonymity to be able to speak candidly. 鈥淭rump trying to open this up and saying 鈥業 support the release鈥� is a smart move. We鈥檙e expecting a large number of members to vote in support. ... [The White House] probably read the writing on the wall and saw this was going to pass.鈥�
The issue tied House Republicans in knots for months, grinding the lower chamber to a halt.聽Speaker Johnson sent lawmakers home for more than two months 鈥� including the entirety of the government shutdown 鈥� and refused to swear in Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva after she won a special election in September. Ms. Grijalva was the 218th signature to put the discharge petition over the finish line and force a divisive vote on the Epstein issue.
What role for the Senate?
While Trump鈥檚 pivot obscures the number of House Republicans who were ready to break with him over the issue, it could prod Senate Republicans to act, keeping the issue in the news. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has repeatedly declined to promise any action on the bill, but Mr. Trump鈥檚 decision to stop publicly fighting it may change that calculus.
鈥淭rump jumped on a train that鈥檚 already left the station in the House in an attempt to show that there鈥檚 nothing there,鈥� said former Senate Republican leadership aide Ron Bonjean. 鈥淚f there are 400 or more votes in the House for this, then the Senate will feel more pressure to act.鈥�
This vote comes at a recent low point for the president.
Mr. Trump鈥檚 approval rating is the lowest it鈥檚 been in his second term 鈥� 55% of voters disapprove of the job he鈥檚 doing, with just 41% approving, according to .
Republicans just suffered a drubbing in this November鈥檚 elections, where they faced double-digit blowout losses in contests from New Jersey and Virginia to Georgia, Pennsylvania, and California. The 2026 midterm elections are now less than a year away, worrying Republicans in swing districts and states.
That鈥檚 been largely driven not by the Epstein files but by economic concerns. Voters are identifying the cost of living as the top issue and give President Trump low marks on the subject.
Trump under pressure on inflation, too
The president is showing signs he knows he needs a course correction on that front. He reversed himself and repealed a number of tariffs on grocery staples over the weekend, and he has sought to refocus his rhetoric on kitchen-table issues in recent days.
It鈥檚 unclear whether this reset will work. His predecessor, President Joe Biden, attempted a similar rhetorical focus on driving costs down, even billing his core legislative accomplishment the 鈥淚nflation Reduction Act.鈥� Still, voters booted his party from the White House in 2024, largely because of voter dissatisfaction over cost-of-living issues.
If Mr. Trump wanted to release the Epstein files and end the fight, he could do that at any point. His decision to battle their release for months has only further fueled speculation as to why 鈥� and raised questions about what he may not want the public to see.
The vote comes after the House Oversight Committee, which is conducting its own investigation into Mr. Epstein, released more than 20,000 documents Wednesday that it had obtained from Mr. Epstein's estate. Mr. Trump is mentioned almost 1,000 times in the documents, along with other prominent men such as former President Bill Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. In one 2019 email, Mr. Epstein wrote that Mr. Trump 鈥�knew about the girls.鈥�
Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein were friends from the 1980s through at least the 2000s. Mr. Epstein is a 鈥渢errific guy,鈥� the president , adding that 鈥淗e鈥檚 a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.鈥�
There are photos and video footage that show Mr. Trump socializing with Mr. Epstein and his former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was for assisting Mr. Epstein鈥檚 abuse of young women.
Mr. Trump said in 2019 that the two had a 鈥渇alling out鈥� over a decade earlier, after they , and Mr. Epstein reportedly hired spa attendants away from the president鈥檚 Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago. After Mr. Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges in 2019, Mr. Trump said he was 鈥渘ot a fan of his.鈥�
Cameron Joseph reported from Washington and Story Hinckley from Richmond, Virginia.
