President Donald Trump on Sunday night urged House Republicans to back a bill forcing the public release of sealed Jeffrey Epstein case files, a sharp reversal from his earlier efforts to discredit the push as a partisan attack.
“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,” Trump posted on Truth Social, framing the controversy as a distraction by “Radical Left Lunatics” from what he called Republican “success,” including a recent showdown over a government shutdown.
The about-face comes as House GOP leaders brace for a significant wave of defections on a bipartisan measure spearheaded by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). The duo last week secured enough signatures on a discharge petition to force a floor vote compelling the Justice Department to release all remaining Epstein-related files.
Massie, appearing on ABC’s This Week, predicted that “100 or more” Republicans could break with Trump. “I’m hoping to get a veto-proof majority,” he said, arguing the vote record would outlast Trump’s presidency.
Until Trump’s Sunday post, the White House had pushed in the opposite direction. Late last week, the president said he would direct the Justice Department to investigate Epstein’s ties to prominent Democrats, a move critics saw as an attempt to muddy the waters rather than embrace full transparency. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced she had tasked the US attorney in the Southern District of New York with leading the probe.
Massie accused Trump of trying to “protect a bunch of rich and powerful friends, billionaires, donors to his campaign, friends in his social circles,” while Khanna said on NBC’s Meet the Press that Trump was “sowing the seeds for his own lame-duck presidency” by attacking Republicans supporting the bill.
One of those Republicans, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), said the clash with Trump “has all come down to the Epstein files.” The president announced Friday he would no longer endorse her 2026 reelection bid. “That is the question everyone is asking: Why fight this so hard?” Greene told CNN.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had previously called the effort “moot” given ongoing oversight investigations, signaled a shift Sunday on Fox News Sunday, saying, “We’ll just get this done and move it on. There’s nothing to hide.” A vote is expected Tuesday.
The bill’s fate in the Senate is uncertain. Majority Leader John Thune has downplayed the need for further action, citing thousands of pages of documents already released, though Massie insisted “pressure is going to be there” if the House passes the measure with a strong bipartisan majority.
