Former President Donald Trump is the one sweating. The other thing he’s working very hard to do is block a congressional vote that may release files related to the late financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Trump is reportedly lobbying hard behind the scenes. He’s working to defeat the bipartisan discharge petition that would force the House of Representatives to act. This latest advance comes as he faces renewed political heat for his previous links to Epstein, who was at one time a close friend of the Governor.
Some of his more overt attempts to rig the outcome included direct outreach efforts to the SC gubernatorial candidate, Nancy Mace. According to news reports, Trump called and was unable to get through. His intervention comes on the heels of an invitation to Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert, who has consistently voted in support of the petition, to intervene on the petition’s behalf.
Even as pressure mounts from on high, including from Trump himself, Boebert refuses to budge. She even made the trip to the White House to try and convince her to pull her signature from the petition. This new uncompromising tack makes Trump a lot more vulnerable. It would further alienate important slices of his own support base on a highly charged issue.
The NYC controversy surrounding Epstein made national headlines once again. This occurred literally within minutes of President Trump signing the spending package that ended the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, 43 days. Speculation about what the release of Epstein’s files might mean has grown sharply on this backdrop. Democratic Representative Ro Khanna estimates that at least 40-50 Republicans will join him in supporting the motion to force those files out into public view.
This week, those critical votes for the petition started to come together. The swearing in of new Democratic member Adelita Grijalva meant the needed 5th vote for those working to push the issue to a final vote. Tensions among party members have boiled over. Democrats are blaming new House Speaker Mike Johnson for deliberately delaying Grijalva’s oath-taking in order to sap momentum from support for the petition.
Trump’s historic ties to Epstein are an important fixture in this political environment. A newly revealed email from Epstein allegedly read that Trump “was aware of the girls.” Then such revelations don’t create very much winning for Trump. Commentators have pointed out how they could muddy his potential appeal to Republican primary voters.
A Trump ally commented on the situation, noting that these email releases have amplified existing challenges for the former president.
“It’s like adding salt to a dish – the flavors are already there, it just accentuates all of them.” – unnamed ally [The Guardian]
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has characterized the email releases as “a distraction campaign by the Democrats and the liberal media.” To that end, Trump’s team is working hard to minimize the damage. Yet at the same time, they are still doing the crucial work shining the spotlight on other political narratives.
In response to this growing pressure, Mace has recently stated that the Epstein petition is personal for her. She is intent on pushing it forward, even despite the possible political shrapnel she could face by doing so.
So far, GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie have signed the petition. This underlines how a divide is already emerging within the party. This rift in the pro-Trump coalition represents a major opportunity and threat for Trump. Mace and Boebert’s extreme intransigence might spark an uprising among his precious MAGA constituency.