The uproar over disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein could undermine public trust in the Trump administration and Republican hopes of retaining control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections. Republican Representative Thomas Massie and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna want the House of Representatives to vote on their bipartisan resolution requiring full release of the government’s Epstein files. The lack of transparency is reinforcing public perceptions that the rich and powerful live beyond the reach of the judicial system.
Republicans hope to add to their current 219-212 House majority and 53-47 Senate majority in November 2026, although the U.S. political cycle traditionally punishes the party of the sitting president during midterm elections. The Washington Post reported that Trump was increasingly frustrated with his administration’s handling of the furor around Epstein.
Massie and Khanna believe they can win enough support from fellow lawmakers to force a vote on their resolution when Congress returns from its summer recess in September. However, they face opposition from Republican leaders, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who sent lawmakers home a day early to stymie Democratic efforts to force a vote before the break. Johnson favors a non-binding alternative resolution that calls for release of “credible” evidence, which he said would better protect victims including minors.
Trump has tried and failed to distract attention from the Epstein controversy six months into his second term. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally, said that Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s director of national intelligence, had found new information that investigators initially discovered no evidence of Russian election interference but changed their position after Obama told them to keep looking.
