In Massive 180, Trump Relents on Epstein Files

President Trump abruptly changed course on Sunday evening, after months spent trying to block a House vote on legislation to release federal records related to Jeffrey Epstein. The reversal comes as a growing number of House Republicans appeared poised to defy Trump's wishes, with a vote on the bill expected Tuesday, Politico reports. "House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it's time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party," he posted on Truth Social, adding, "The House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON'T CARE! All I do care about is that Republicans get BACK ON POINT, which is the Economy, 'Affordability.'"

The reversal was being described using words like "startling" (the AP) and "stark" (CNN), with many outlets noting the shift may be Trump's way of acknowledging that he and House Speaker Mike Johnson appear to have lost control of the GOP when it comes to the issue, with as many as 100 Republicans expected to break ranks and vote with Democrats in favor of releasing the files. The drama has been playing out as far as the White House Situation Room, where Rep. Lauren Boebert was summoned in an attempt to get her to withdraw her support of the bill; it didn't work, and one senior Republican who spoke to Politico called recent moves by Trump including that one "erratic" and disturbing. In total, five anonymous sources told the outlet that Republican lawmakers have become "increasingly wary" of how concerned Trump has been with the impending vote.

Rep. Nancy Mace, who also supports the bill, is rumored to be at risk of losing Trump's endorsement in her bid for governor of South Carolina, and the issue has also caused a massive rift between Trump and another once-staunch supporter, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who on Sunday night apologized on CNN for her past "toxic" behavior. GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, who is leading the effort to get the bill passed, says Republicans "need to look past 2028 and wonder if they want this on their record for the rest of their political career," noting Trump won't always be "popular or president" and able to protect them for, in his words, "cover[ing] up for pedophiles." The bill's future, however, remains uncertain in the Senate.