Republicans Block Epstein Files Release As Backlash From Some Top MAGA Figures Dwindles
President Donald Trump waves as he walks from Marine One to board Air Force One at Joint Base ... More Andrews, Maryland on July 15, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
Seven Republicans on the House Rules Committee opposed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., that would have required Congress to vote whether to release the documents, while one Republican, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., voted with the five Democrats on the committee in favor of the measure.
Democrats have seized on the anger among some in Trump's base over the Justice Department's announcement last week that it would not release any new details on the Epstein probe, despite suggestions from some top Trump officials that more information was forthcoming.
Some of the right-wing backlash—which included calls for Attorney General Pam Bondi to resign—has died down since Trump urged his supporters over the weekend to move on from the controversy and defended Bondi.
Right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, who previously called for the purported Epstein list to be released, said Monday he is 'done talking about Epstein for the time being' and would trust Trump's administration to 'solve it,' watering down his criticism last week of the Trump administration's handing of the memo.
Conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza also told his viewers it was 'time to move on' from the Epstein probe and unify behind Trump by 'recognizing you can't win 'em all.'
Republican leaders in Congress have also echoed Trump, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who told reporters Monday 'I think the president's expressed his views on it, and so I'll just leave it at that,' while House Majority Leader Mike Johnson, R-La., also said 'the White House has a lot more information about that than I'm privy to . . . so I'll have to trust that they'll make the right decision.'
'We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein. For years, it's Epstein, over and over again,' Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday, calling the Epstein files 'Radical Left inspired Documents' written by Democrats. Contra
Not all Republicans in Congress have fallen in line with Trump's messaging strategy. Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told Axios 'I don't understand why they're hiding what they're hiding,' while Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, told the outlet 'there's just some things that don't pass the sniff test.' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., also continued to express disappointment over the Justice Department decision, telling The New York Times 'it's definitely a full reversal on what was said beforehand, and people are just not willing to accept it,' referring to previous statements from administration officials suggesting the documents would be released.
The Justice Department in a memo last week said it would not release any more files on its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. It also repeated its determinations that Epstein died by suicide in jail and that no so-called 'Epstein list' of clients exists. Trump's base has largely targeted Bondi over the agency's refusal to release the documents, with some calling for her termination, after she said in a Fox News interview earlier this year the purported list was on her desk. The White House walked back the statement last week and said Bondi was referring to the documents in their entirety. Further Reading
Tucker Carlson Blasts Pam Bondi For 'A Bunch Of Ludicrous Claims' About Epstein Files—As Backlash Mounts (Forbes)
Trump Sounded Hesitant About Releasing Epstein Files In Newly Resurfaced Interview (Forbes)
Pam Bondi Under Fire From MAGA —Megyn Kelly, Laura Loomer And More—Over Epstein Probe (Forbes)
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