Trump reverses course, urges GOP to release Epstein files after days of party turmoil
President Donald Trump abruptly reversed himself Sunday night, urging House Republicans to vote to release all remaining Jeffrey Epstein files — a dramatic shift that threatens to reshape one of the most contentious fights on Capitol Hill. The late-night turn came after days of behind-the-scenes pressure from Trump to stop the vote, a bipartisan surge toward passage and a public rupture with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of his most loyal allies.
Trump now says ‘vote to release the files’
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump told Republicans they should “vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.” He dismissed the controversy as a “Democrat Hoax” meant to distract from recent GOP wins and urged the party to “move on.”
Until Sunday, Trump had been lobbying Republicans to block the measure, even summoning some to the White House in the past week to discourage support.
Trump’s pivot also comes as the House prepares for a high-profile vote triggered by a bipartisan discharge petition that reached 218 signatures last week, a milestone the White House had tried to prevent.
A public break with Marjorie Taylor Greene
The shift unfolded alongside Trump’s increasingly personal feud with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has broken with him on the need to release the files.
Over the weekend, Trump labeled Greene a “traitor” in multiple Truth Social posts — first on Saturday, and again Sunday night, writing that “The fact is, nobody cares about this Traitor to our Country!”
Greene, who has backed the discharge petition, said the attacks have put her safety at risk.
“The most hurtful thing (Trump) said, which is absolutely untrue, is he called me a traitor, and that is so extremely wrong, and those are the types of words used that can radicalize people against me and put my life in danger,” she told CNN.
She also apologized for her own role in what she called “toxic politics,” saying she wants to “put down the knives in politics” and lower the temperature.
Rising GOP support for releasing the files
Even before Trump’s reversal, support for releasing the documents was growing inside the party.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., the bill’s co-author, said Sunday on ABC that as many as 100 or more Republicans could vote yes.
“This vote… will last longer than Donald Trump’s presidency,” Massie warned fellow Republicans. “But in 2030, he’s not going to be the president, and you will have voted to protect pedophiles if you don’t vote to release these files, and the president can’t protect you then.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, has defended Trump throughout the controversy, saying the president has “clean hands” and is frustrated that Democrats are politicizing the issue.
“He had nothing to do with it,” Johnson told Fox News. “Epstein is their entire game plan.”
What happens next
The House could vote as early as Monday or Tuesday, setting up one of the most politically explosive roll calls of the year. If support holds, Republicans may overwhelmingly back a measure Trump had been working aggressively to stop — until his sudden change of heart Sunday night.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
