President Trump on Sunday night abruptly urged House Republicans to vote in favor of releasing government files linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reversing a stance he had taken only days earlier. The reversal came as GOP support for a forced vote appeared to be growing, threatening to hand Trump and the White House an embarrassing political defeat.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “As I said on Friday night aboard Air Force One to the Fake News Media, 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 perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown.’”
A Forced Vote Gains Momentum
Momentum for the measure intensified last week when a discharge petition—an infrequently used maneuver that allows the House minority to force a vote—secured its crucial 218th signature. That final signature came from Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) immediately after she was sworn into Congress. Her swearing-in had been delayed for weeks by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) as Congress grappled with the government shutdown.
The petition succeeded with the backing of nearly all House Democrats and a small but notable bloc of Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has recently feuded with Trump over Epstein-related issues. Their signatures obligated the House to hold a vote on the underlying measure this week, a step Johnson confirmed he would take.
Several of the measure’s Republican supporters, including Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), predicted that a significant number of Republicans would ultimately vote for the release on the House floor. Massie even suggested the total could reach 100 GOP members—an outcome that would have highlighted Trump’s waning influence over parts of the conference had he continued opposing the effort.
Political Pressure and a Sudden Shift
The president’s sudden endorsement appears aimed at avoiding that scenario. A large Republican defection on a high-profile issue tied directly to Trump could have created an uncomfortable public rebuke just weeks after internal GOP tensions intensified during budget negotiations. By calling on Republicans to vote yes, Trump preempted an embarrassing outcome while reshaping the political narrative around the vote.
The reversal also follows days of lobbying by Trump and his allies, who reached out to several Republicans who had signed the discharge petition, urging them to withdraw their support. According to a Republican source, Trump personally made calls attempting to persuade lawmakers to remove their signatures—an effort that ultimately proved unsuccessful.
What Comes Next
Should the House approve the measure, it would then move to the Senate, where at least 13 Republican votes might be needed for passage under the chamber’s filibuster rules. Until Trump’s Sunday statement, prospects for Senate action and presidential support had appeared uncertain. His announcement now raises the possibility that both chambers could ultimately follow through.
The issue has resurged in recent months as the administration faced renewed scrutiny from lawmakers in both parties over its handling of Epstein-related information. Pressure intensified last week when Democrats released additional emails, including one written by Epstein claiming that Trump “knew about the girls.”
On NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who has been leading the discharge petition effort alongside Massie, reiterated his desire for full transparency. He said he wanted Trump to “release all these files,” suggesting it could even bolster the president politically. “Someone was saying that his numbers would go up. I don’t care if he gets the political win. There is a group of rich and powerful men who abused young girls,” Khanna said. “It’s the one thing this country agrees was horrible.”
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