Vote on Epstein files could be rare GOP break with Trump

when the house vote this week on a bill to force the release of Complete Justice Department Files Related to Jeffrey Epstein, Washington DC We may witness something extremely rare in this Trump era: a sizable bloc of Republican lawmakers openly breaking with President Donald Trump.

During this administration, House republicans they rarely oppose Trump. TO vote for revealing the files would represent a major public rebuke, especially since Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson They have done everything possible to prevent the vote from taking place.

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, the lead Republican co-sponsor of the records release bill, said Co-host of ABC News’ “This Week” Jonathan Karl expects a “deluge” of support from the Republican Party about the measure.

Massie laid out the dilemma clearly: legislators must choose between the political protection of the president and the expectations of their constituents: How would you justify a vote against transparency?

“I would like to remind my Republican colleagues that they are deciding how to vote,” Massie said. “Donald Trump can protect you in the red districts right now by giving you an endorsement. But in 2030, he won’t be president and you will have voted to protect pedophiles if you don’t vote to release these files. And the president cannot protect them then in this vote; “The record of this vote will outlast Donald Trump’s presidency.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters last week that emails related to convicted sex offender Epstein released by House Democrats “prove absolutely nothing, other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong.”

None of the documents Documents previously released as part of civil lawsuits or the Maxwell trial contain allegations of wrongdoing by Trump.

Trump called the release of the emails a Democratic “hoax,” adding that “some stupid” and “foolish” Republicans had fallen for it.

Even if the measure passes the House, it would face a second hurdle in the Senate and ultimately a possible veto from Trump unless lawmakers can reach the two-thirds threshold required to override one.

The public breakup between Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., this weekend underscores deeper fissures within the president’s MAGA base and offers a glimpse of what a post-Trump version of that movement might look like.

Greene has increasingly positioned herself as a true defender of the “America First” ideology, arguing that the president has lost focus.

Their tensions have been simmering for months, as Greene has distanced herself from Trump on a wide range of issues. She has publicly criticized him for:

• His emphasis on foreign affairs over domestic concerns;
• The rescue of the Argentine economy by the administration;
• Your stance on H-1B visas;
• The Republican leadership’s approach to the government shutdown and lack of a health care agenda.

When asked by CNN on Sunday whether Trump still represents the MAGA movement as he once did, Greene suggested that he no longer fully aligns with the priorities that originally animated the base.

“What the American people voted for with MAGA was to put the American people first and stop sending foreign aid and stop getting involved in foreign wars,” Greene said, pointing to the high cost of living and skyrocketing health insurance premiums.

“Those are two issues that I’ve talked a lot about for months and months, long before Republicans were shocked when those big losses occurred in last Tuesday’s election,” Greene said.

But Greene made one point clear: What triggered the president’s explosive breakup with her was her push for Epstein’s files to be made public.