Trump pivots on Epstein vote amid GOP defections

What happened

President Donald Trump Sunday night reversed course and said House Republicans should vote for an upcoming petition to force the release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files.

Trump’s monthslong battle to quash the petition had divided his MAGA base and contributed to his “increasingly nasty split” with his former ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), The Associated Press said. Greene was one of four Republicans who forced an upcoming vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and Trump’s surprise about-face was an “implicit acknowledgement” that the measure has enough support to pass in the House.

Who said what

“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 said on social media last night. “I DON’T CARE!” He “threw in the towel” after it became clear his “last-minute push” to dissuade House Republicans “wasn’t getting results,” The Wall Street Journal said, and “risked calling even more attention to the matter.”

The “internal GOP strife underscores how politically toxic Trump’s association with Epstein has become,” especially since last week’s release of emails in which the convicted sex offender alleged that Trump “knew about the girls,” Politico said. The president “normally enjoys an iron grip” over “subservient” House Republicans, but “he’s lost all control over the chamber when it comes to the Epstein matter, and Hill Republicans have grown increasingly wary of Trump’s fixation on the issue.”

Greene told CNN Sunday that Trump’s break with her — including calling her a “ranting lunatic” he no longer supported on Friday and a “traitor” on Saturday — “unfortunately, it has all come down to the Epstein files.” She said she did not think the files would show any wrongdoing by Trump. “I have no idea what’s in the files,” Greene added. “I can’t even guess. But that is the question everyone is asking, is why fight this so hard?”

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What next?

One reason Trump had fought to “avoid a total GOP jailbreak”, Politico said, was that a big win “could increase pressure on the Senate to take up the bill,” potentially “forcing an embarrassing veto that would prolong the controversy.” Lead sponsor Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told ABC News Sunday his Epstein petition “could have a deluge of Republicans” voting in favor tomorrow, “100 or more,” and he was “hoping to get a veto-proof majority.”