A Kentucky Republican and a California liberal: The unlikely alliance pushing Trump on Epstein

Yahoo

7 days ago

The unlikely alliance of the populist left and right has strengthened over the Jeffrey Epstein controversy.
Leading the charge for Congress to vote on publicizing Epstein-related records are Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). The odd couple — a libertarian from rural Kentucky and a progressive from Silicon Valley — is piecing together Republican and Democratic support for the House to take an up-or-down vote on releasing the so-called Epstein files. If successful, their efforts would further complicate President Donald Trump's ability to move on from the spiraling scandal that has angered his political base.
'I do believe that there are issues that populists on the right and left can collaborate on,' Khanna said in an interview. "In this case, it's about going after the corruption in our government. Rich and powerful men shouldn't have impunity from accountability. And that's something that both people on the left and right are sick of.'
Discharge petitions, which allow any member of the House to force legislation to the floor if a majority of members agree, are usually a long shot. As of Friday afternoon, Massie, a frequent White House foil, and Khanna had convinced 10 Republicans and five Democrats to get on board as cosponsors. It's not the first time they've teamed up: Massie and Khanna collaborated on legislation aiming to limit U.S. involvement in the wars in Yemen and Iran.
Their newest gambit would pay off if the entire Democratic caucus signs on — which Khanna guaranteed in a recent video clip. Democrats have been hungry to capitalize on Trump's Epstein problem, given the president's longstanding ties to the accused sex trafficker that were illuminated in a Wall Street Journal story this week. The paper focused on a letter Trump reportedly wrote to Epstein for his 50th birthday. Trump denies he wrote the note, and POLITICO has not independently verified it. The president has never been accused of any wrongdoing linked to Epstein.
Nevertheless, the political fallout has been widespread as it weds the divergent factions of Congress.
From conservative firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) to famed progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), the cosponsors on Massie's measure represent an eclectic mix of lawmakers who rarely agree on anything — or even speak to each other cordially. The list yokes one of the furthest left members of Congress, Michigan's Rashida Tlaib, with Trump loyalist Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). And one Republican in a battleground district, Rep. Tom Barrett from Michigan, has also signed onto the push.
It's not the first time that the populist left and right have converged: A handful of leaders on both sides have found agreement recently on wars in the Middle East, U.S. involvement in Israel, antitrust policies, artificial intelligence and the unaffordability of housing.
To that end, Khanna said he's 'exchanged a few texts' with MAGA godfather Steve Bannon, who has expressed support for a special counsel to examine the Epstein case. Their correspondence was 'in the context of trying to stop the regime-change war in Iran,' Khanna said.
Asked for comment, Bannon listed Khanna as one of a group of figures on the populist left and right who have found common ground on 'neo-Brandeisian antitrust.'
On X, Massie is keeping a live whip count of cosponsors for his proposal to release the Epstein files and encouraging his 1.3 million followers to ask their representatives if they support the idea. When Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Thursday the Justice Department will move to release grand jury transcripts — a decision seen as an attempt to appease the MAGA base — Massie declared: 'Folks, Keep the pressure on, it's working. But we want all the files.'
Should it come to pass, the resolution would be symbolic — Congress doesn't have the power to force the Justice Department to release any information. But under procedural rules, action on the floor can't take place until September, meaning that Trump's Epstein problem could linger in Congress for several more weeks.
Khanna said he has a 'very friendly' relationship with Massie. The idea for the discharge petition came about after Khanna introduced an amendment to release the Epstein files, and Massie texted him to propose they draft a bill on the topic.
'We text back and forth all the time. I will often see him on the House floor, pick up the phone and call him,' he said. 'Obviously, we come from different ideological perspectives, but there are areas where we have agreement in making sure that we're preventing wars of choice overseas and transparency.'
A spokesperson for Massie declined to comment. Earlier this week, Massie said in an interview that the pressure will intensify on House Republicans over the upcoming recess.
'They probably want to let the steam out, but this will build momentum over August,' Massie said. 'They can't sweep it under the rug.'
It's not the first time Massie, often an iconoclast in his party, has found strange bedfellows in Democrats. He and other conservatives joined forces with libertarian-minded and anti-interventionist lawmakers on digital privacy and war powers measures. And just last month, he teamed up with Khanna on a measure to reign in Trump's ability to use military force in the Iran-Israel conflict.
'It is very on brand for Thomas Massie to stick with his position, even under pressure,' said Marisa McNee, a Democratic strategist from Massie's northern Kentucky district. 'The thing that bugs his party about him is that he's sort of unwavering once he has a position on something.'
Massie, who is up for re-election next year, has easily survived primary challenges. But he's become a top target for Trump's allies angered by his choice to break party lines and vote against the megabill.
Meanwhile, Democrats are angling to exploit their opposing party's wedge over Epstein. As Democratic lawmakers filtered into a closed-door caucus meeting Thursday, one chanted 'Epstein, Epstein, Epstein,' and Democrats frequently heckled their GOP counterparts as the House debated clawbacks of public media and foreign aid overnight.
House Democrats reveled this week in the pressure they and Massie applied to the GOP, underscored by a group of Rules Committee Republicans huddling with Speaker Mike Johnson for hours Thursday in search of political cover.
Republicans advanced their own non-binding resolution calling for the release of a limited scope of Epstein-related documents, while voting down a Democratic amendment to advance Massie's bipartisan legislation.
'We'll determine what happens with all that. There's a lot developing,' Johnson told reporters, after declining to commit to put the GOP resolution to a full House vote.
The Epstein controversy is the latest example of Massie creating a major headache for his fellow Republicans, following his opposition to the megabill. Just a few weeks ago, Trump and Massie actually appeared headed to a sort of political truce. But it was short-lived.
House Republicans said Trump appeared to blow up the detente he and Massie struck during a late-night call to advance the struggling megabill on the House floor last month.
Shortly after, in a move that shocked some Republicans on Capitol HIll, Trump allies poured millions into a PAC attacking Massie, three House Republicans said this week as the Epstein chaos swirled. Trump allies say they wanted Massie to vote for the megabill final passage itself, not just the procedural move to advance it.
Massie going after Trump on Epstein 'probably has the virtue of being able to poke Trump in the eye and appeal to important aspects of the base," said former Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, a Republican. "It makes sense he's engaging."
Nicholas Wu, Meredith Lee Hill and Mia McCarthy contributed reporting.