Triumph
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump was eager to claim victory this week after the record-breaking U.S. government shutdown ended on his terms. But almost immediately, the White House was forced to fight a familiar bogeyman: Jeffrey Epstein.
A slew of emails released by Democrats in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday reignited questions about trump relationship with the disgraced financier and how much the president knew about Epstein’s alleged abuse of girls.
While the White House quickly dismissed the effort as a Democratic smear campaign, the headline-grabbing messages underscored a potential vulnerability for Trump that could follow the president and his Republican Party into next year’s midterm elections.
Trump has weathered controversies that would have brought down many politicians. But the Epstein saga has proven to be a persistent burden that disturbs trump it conveys discipline and complicates his effort to keep his coalition focused on policy rather than scandal.
Photography by Davidoff Studios via Getty Images
SOME REPUBLICANS BREAK RANKS
many of trump Loyalist supporters believe the government is withholding confidential documents about Epstein, a convicted sex offender who committed suicide in prison in 2019, that would reveal his ties to powerful public figures.
A handful of Republicans broke ranks to join Democrats seeking full disclosure of the documents, prompting a rebuke from Trump, who called them “soft and stupid.”
“I think the hope was that it would fizzle out and go away, and that was never going to be the case,” said Republican strategist Terry Sullivan, who headed Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign.
“It is an issue that is impossible to address effectively,” he added. “It’s impossible to prove anything negative. If he (Trump) didn’t know anything, how can you prove it?”
Pia Carusone, a Democratic strategist and partner at political consulting firm SKDK, said the specter of Epstein could depress Republican turnout in the 2026 midterms if new revelations continue to emerge.
Some Trump supporters have for years stoked conspiracy theories about Epstein’s clients and the circumstances of his death. While Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing related to the wealthy financier, he has faced backlash from his supporters over his administration’s refusal, citing privacy concerns, to disclose all investigative files related to Epstein.
Thomas Concordia via Getty Images
“The MAGA base has a way of getting involved in internal issues and blowing them up,” Carusone said. “I think he’s very vulnerable in this.”
While nine in 10 Republicans say they approve trump Overall, only four in 10 say they approve of his handling of the Epstein files, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in October.
The White House said it would not be distracted by the Epstein saga.
“Democrats and the mainstream media are desperately trying to use this hoax as a distraction to talk about anything other than President Trump’s total defeat of Democrats in the shutdown fight. These emails prove literally nothing,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.
UNIT SHOWS CRACKS
The president demonstrated near-total control over his party during the 43-day government shutdown. Even with Epstein’s emails this week, some prominent conservative influencers downplayed messages suggesting Epstein believed Trump “knew about girls.” The messages also showed that Trump disapproved of his behavior and forced Epstein to leave his Mar-a-Lago social club in Florida.
Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein’s alleged abuse and sexual trafficking of girls.
Republican unity has not held up on the Epstein issue overall, and Democrats have still managed to cause problems for Trump.
On the same day the government reopened, a petition supported by all House Democrats and four Republicans gained the final signature needed to vote on a bill that would force the Justice Department to release all files related to Epstein.
Trump’s senior advisers failed to convince Rep. Lauren Boebert to remove her name from Epstein’s petition, even meeting with her in the Situation Room, a White House space typically used for urgent national security matters.
Illustration: Kelly Caminero/News themezone; Photo: Getty Images
The proportion of this post should serve as a definitive warning to all my Republican colleagues.
You vote NO on Tuesday to the release of the Epstein files and face serious outrage from the United States.
Republicans don’t have the support of women and this is a perfect example of why. https://t.co/bpOqCiQiBF
– Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) November 15, 2025
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The proportion of this post should serve as a definitive warning to all my Republican colleagues.
You vote NO on Tuesday to the release of the Epstein files and face serious outrage from the United States.
Republicans don’t have the support of women and this is a perfect example of why. https://t.co/bpOqCiQiBF
– Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) November 15, 2025
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, another Trump loyalist, also did not budge on her support for the petition. A source familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity said that when Mace and Trump were unable to connect by phone, she wrote a message to the president that referenced her experience as a sexual assault survivor.
The obduracy of Boebert and Mace, members of a congressional Republican conference that has shown near-total obedience to Trump, suggests the president will have to handle internal dissent carefully to ensure that the Epstein saga does not fracture his party ahead of the midterm elections.
After days of fending off questions from reporters, Trump broke his silence Friday night, lamenting how the Epstein affair had distracted him from his accomplishments.
“When you talk about Epstein’s hoax, what happens is you don’t talk about how well we’ve done it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “They want to waste people’s time, and some of the dumber Republicans like that.”
Those comments came just hours after Trump announced he would ask the Justice Department to investigate Epstein’s ties to JPMorgan and prominent Democrats. The US bank said it regrets its past association with Epstein, who was a client between 1998 and 2013, and did not help him commit “heinous acts.”
Democratic and Republican strategists said the past few days have illustrated the remarkable staying power of the Epstein scandal and its ability to control any news cycle.
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The White House’s continued attempts to suppress or deflect news about the saga have had the effect of prolonging the attention paid to it, they said.
“I don’t think anyone can argue that they handled it well,” said veteran Republican strategist Alex Conant, “because we’re still talking about it.”
(Reporting by Gram Slattery, Steve Holland and Nandita BoseEditing by Colleen Jenkins, Ross Colvin and Rod Nickel)