Following the approval in the United States Congress of a law ordering the Department of Justice to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein, the legislative initiative now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk.
If Trump signs it into law, as he is expected to do, the decision will mark his final position in what has been a clear and abrupt change of position.
For months, Trump ignored calls to release full archives of government documents on the late financier convicted of sexual abuse.
He described the case in July as “a pretty boring affair.”
It remained that way until last Sunday when, with a number of House Republicans signaling that they would vote to release them, the president relented and encouraged them to do so.
His change of position opened the doors for an overwhelming 427-1 vote in favor of the law in the House of Representatives and subsequent express approval in the Senate on Tuesday.
Trump’s transformation was an exceptional case in which Republican politicians managed to pressure him to act and publicly change his position.
Beyond the new information that any document may have, the saga exposed fractures within the Republican Party and highlighted the power of the MAGA base (Make America Great Again, Trump’s “Make America Great Again.”
He has also shown that, despite his best efforts, he might have had difficulty diverting attention from Epstein’s files if he had not supported the vote.
“Trump sees this as an issue where he clashes with ordinary Republicans,” says Martha Zoller, conservative radio host and Republican strategist in Georgia.
“I think Trump had to do this right now because he wants to get back on the right side,” he adds.
An NPR/PBS News/Marist poll conducted in late September, when Trump had not yet endorsed releasing the files, suggested that 67% of registered Republican voters supported releasing all of Epstein’s files. with the names of the victims hidden.
“Transparency about what happened is extremely important to voters,” Chris Ager, former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, told the BBC.
Ager praised Trump’s change of position, arguing that it is reflective of a healthy party, “that you can have a disagreement on an issue… and come to a conclusion that essentially everyone agrees on: Let’s release the files.”
MAGA Core
For much of this year, there were strong disagreements on the issue.
But Trump’s change of position came as it looked increasingly likely that he could face a revolt within the House of Representatives.
The most prominent “defector,” Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, said Tuesday at a press conference for Epstein’s victims that the saga “destroyed MAGA.”
Because of her position, Trump dubbed her a “traitor” on Truth Social.
Normally a public attack of this type by the president would silence the dissenting voice of a Republican figure, especially one who is running for re-election. But, in a sign of the political weight of the Epstein matter, Greene did not remain silent.
“He called me a traitor for standing with these women and refusing to remove my name from this discharge request,” Greene said.
The House of Representatives will push the bill, Greene said, “because the American people, whom we serve as representatives here in Congress, demanded this vote be held.”
Greene, who first broke with Trump a few months ago, has been the face of dissent within Trump’s MAGA movement.
Not just about Epstein, but about other issues, such as the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites last June and the president’s focus on foreign wars.
But on the issue of Epstein in particular, Greene and other members of the MAGA movement called for greater transparency, despite Trump’s desire to focus on other issues. And, after Tuesday’s votes in Congress, they can boast of real success.
“The saga reveals how much power the Republican base now wields,” party strategist Rina Shah told NPR. “MAGA voters are furious.”
“This pressure is forcing even Trump’s most loyal allies to break ranks. And it is a sign that the Republican Party is increasingly populist, where the base can pressure leaders to act or else they will have to pay a price,” he added.
“Great distraction”
Epstein’s vote has also overshadowed other White House initiatives.
Last week, President Trump announced he would reverse tariffs on foods such as bananas, coffee and beef as concerns mount about Americans’ cost of living.
“I think he’d rather people talk about those things than Epstein,” says Zoller, the Georgia Republican strategist.
A senior Trump administration official told Axios that the president decided to drop his opposition to the law because the noise around the Epstein issue was proving to be a “major distraction.”
Greene herself repeated that the White House was going down the wrong path by resisting releasing more Epstein files.instead of focusing on other issues.
“It’s totally the wrong direction,” Greene told POLITICO. “The ultimate emergency is healthcare and affordability for Americans. And that’s where the focus should be.”
Meanwhile, the White House explained in a statement to the BBC that, “by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, and with President Trump’s recent call for further investigations into Epstein’s Democratic friends, the Trump administration has done more for victims than Democrats have in their entire history.”
Even beyond Epstein, Trump’s influence in the party has been tested and even rejected this week. And there are also signs of possible cracks.
His public efforts to encourage Indiana leaders to redraw their congressional maps to favor Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections ran into a potentially critical snag on the same day as the vote on Epstein’s files.
Indiana’s Republican-controlled Senate voted Tuesday to recess until January, showing it will not take up the issue of redistricting.
That, despite great pressure from the president, as well as the state’s Republican governor, who has asked lawmakers to work on redrawing the maps.
Trump has even threatened to endorse rival candidates in primaries against senators who oppose redistricting. But, as with the Epstein affair, there has been rebellion within the party.
“I’ve been a legislator for 42 years. I’m not going to change my vote,” Republican Sen. Vaneta Becker told CNN.
“The hoosiers We are not used to being in a kind of blackmail position. “It doesn’t bode well,” he added, referring to the nickname of the people of Indiana.
But, as those close to Trump have pointed out, he has managed to navigate disagreements and internal opposition in the past.
Despite this challenge, which is presented on several fronts, the president remains the most powerful figure in the party.
“I think the president is going to be praised for getting the information out there. At the end of the day, it’s the results that count, not the process that got us there,” Ager said of Epstein’s files.
Trump himself said as much in a Truth Social message Tuesday night, saying he didn’t mind Senate Republicans passing the bill.
“I just don’t want Republicans to lose sight of all the victories we’ve achieved,” the president emphasized.
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