President Trump Reverses Stance, Urges House Republicans to Vote for Release of Full Epstein Files
President Trump has unexpectedly reversed his position on the Jeffrey Epstein files, publicly urging House Republicans to vote in favor of a measure that would compel the Justice Department to release all documents related to the convicted sex offender. The sudden change follows weeks of internal party pressure and an acknowledgment that the bipartisan bill had garnered enough support to force a floor vote this week.
President Trump dramatically shifted his stance on Sunday evening, publicly declaring on his Truth Social platform that House Republicans should vote to release all files pertaining to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The announcement marks a significant reversal for the President, who had previously lobbied intensely against the bipartisan discharge petition that demands the Department of Justice make public its full investigative records. The President justified his change of position by writing, “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,” before again labeling the entire controversy a “Democrat Hoax” designed to distract from the party’s successes.
The President’s shift comes as an implicit acknowledgment that supporters of the measure, led by Representative Thomas Massie and Democrat Representative Ro Khanna, had already secured enough signatures to compel a vote on the House floor this week, bypassing the GOP leadership’s previous attempts to block the legislation. The bipartisan pressure, which included three other Republicans signing the petition, had created a substantial rift within the Republican party, most notably leading to a public feud and the withdrawal of the President’s support for Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had been an outspoken advocate for the files’ release. Lawmakers supporting the transparency measure are now predicting a large victory in the House, possibly securing a veto-proof majority for the bill that would force the release of all unclassified Justice Department files, with redactions only for victim information or ongoing federal investigations.
While House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed the discharge petition as a “political exercise” since the House Oversight Committee had already released over 20,000 pages of Epstein-related documents, the President’s sudden endorsement effectively ends the internal fight to block the vote. Despite the political maneuvering, the legislation still faces an uncertain future in the Senate. The latest pressure on the White House was fueled by the recent selective release of Epstein emails by the House Oversight Committee, including one written by Epstein that suggested the President “knew about the girls,” an accusation the White House has vehemently and consistently denied.
