Share and Follow
In a surprising turn of events, former President Donald Trump publicly urged House Republicans to vote in favor of releasing files related to Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender. This marks a reversal from his previous stance on the matter.
The call for action came from Trump on Sunday night, as he noted a potential shift in momentum within the House. A vote, expected to be forced by a discharge petition, appeared to gather support from several Republican members, even though Trump had initially opposed it.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform to clarify his position, stating, “As I mentioned on Friday night aboard Air Force One to the Fake News Media, House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files. We have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax. This is the work of Radical Left Lunatics aiming to distract from the Republican Party’s great successes, including our recent victory regarding the Democrat ‘Shutdown.’”
The momentum for the vote increased when a discharge petition reached its 218th signature after Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) was finally sworn into Congress last Wednesday. Her swearing-in had been delayed by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in the wake of the government shutdown.
Discharge petitions serve as a mechanism for the minority party to compel a vote on legislation that the majority prefers to avoid. In this instance, a small group of House Republicans, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), who has been at odds with Trump over the Epstein files and other matters, collaborated with Democrats to push the petition forward.
Johnson said the House would vote on the underlying measure forced by the petition this week. Several sponsors, including Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), predicted dozens of Republicans would vote for it on the floor. Massie specifically predicted 100 GOP members could back it.
Such a scenario would have potentially been embarrasing for Trump and the White House. Calling for the GOP to back the release of the files ahead of the vote saves the president from the harshness of that situation.
If the measure is approved by the House, it would still need to be passed by the Senate and signed by Trump to force the release. Last week, those two steps still seemed in doubt, but Trump’s statement on Sunday suggests they could become reality.
At least 13 GOP senators would likely need to support the measure in the Senate given the filibuster in that chamber.
In recent months, the Trump administration has faced scrutiny from both sides of the aisle over its handling of information related to Epstein.
Pressure grew last week after the release by Democrats of more emails, including one written by Epstein that said Trump “knew about the girls.”
In the hours before Grijalva was sworn into the House last week, Trump and allies reached out to some Republicans who had signed in the discharge petition, in what appeared to be an effort to get them to back down.
The Hill’s sister network NewsNation had previously reported that Trump had called House Republicans in an attempt to have them remove their signatures from the petition, according to a Republican source.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who has been leading the discharge petition push with Massie, said in an interview Sunday on NBC News’s “Meet the Press” that he wanted Trump to “release all these files,” noting it could improve his public perception.
“Someone was saying that his numbers would go up. I don’t care if he gets the political win. There is a group of rich and powerful men who abused young girls,” Khanna added. “It’s the one thing this country agrees was horrible.”