President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday evening that House Republicans “should” vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, arguing that “we have nothing to hide.”
The shift comes after Trump had previously criticized House Republicans who pushed to release all the documents, calling them “very bad, or stupid.” On Sunday, however, he reversed course, saying 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.”
Why It Matters
Over the summer, Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a Republican, and Ro Khanna of California, a Democrat, introduced legislation requiring the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release all unclassified records tied to the investigation into deceased financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
When the bill did not receive a vote, Massie filed a discharge petition to force the issue to the floor once it secured 218 signatures.
The effort reached a critical point last week as the government shutdown ended and the House returned to consider and pass Senate spending bills. During that session, House Speaker Mike Johnson swore in newly elected Representative Adelita Grijalva of Arizona, a Democrat, who immediately became the 218th signer of Massie’s petition.
With that final signature, the petition closed and triggered a requirement for Speaker Johnson to schedule a vote. He later told reporters that a vote would take place within a week. Afterward, dozens of House Republicans publicly announced their support for the bill and their intention to vote for its passage.
What To Know
Trump has repeatedly dismissed the furor around the Epstein files as a “Democrat hoax,” while at the same time saying he would ask U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
On Sunday, Trump claimed Democrats were emphasizing the Epstein files “in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party,” citing what he called “our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown.’”
He argued that if Democrats “had anything” on him or his party, they would have insisted on releasing the files while Joe Biden was president.
“Some ‘members’ of the Republican Party are being ‘used,’ and we can’t let that happen,” Trump wrote. “Let’s start talking about the Republican Party’s Record Setting Achievements, and not fall into the Epstein ‘TRAP,’ which is actually a curse on the Democrats, not us. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump said he wants Republicans to back the release of the files, writing that “the House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE!” He added that his priority is for Republicans to get “BACK ON POINT,” focusing on affordability, inflation, prices, tax cuts, and other economic concerns.
What People Are Saying
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday: “These emails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong.”
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, wrote in an X post on Sunday: “I believe in transparency. That’s why I’ve pushed to release the Epstein files. Survivors deserve the truth, and I won’t apologize for standing with them.”
Representative Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, said in part in a November 12 X post: “The Epstein petition is deeply personal…As a survivor I will defend every last attack on President Trump to the death, everywhere. Just like I did on Stephanopoulos because I believe in HIM. And all this fake news, well, it’s just noise. I will NEVER abandon other survivors.”
What Happens Next
The House plans to vote on Massie’s bill on Tuesday. If it passes, the measure would move to the Senate. Should it be approved there, it would go to the president’s desk—where, based on his latest comments, he does not appear inclined to veto it.
