Trump reverses course, endorses Epstein files release amid affordability push

As the U.S. House prepares for an overwhelming vote to force the release of all Justice Department documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein, President Donald Trump has abruptly shifted his stance, urging Republicans to support full disclosure. This marks a stark reversal after months of resistance from the Trump administration, despite Trump’s earlier campaign promises of transparency and the strong support for releasing the files shown by key Trump allies — JD Vance, Kash Patel, and Pam Bondi — during the Biden presidency.

Trump’s sudden change of heart appears driven not by a push for justice for Epstein’s victims or a broader call for accountability, but by political self-preservation. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he said he fears the Epstein scandal could eclipse what he sees as his administration’s successes, particularly on the cost-of-living file. “What I just don’t want Epstein to do is detract from the great success of the Republican Party,” he said, arguing that he has driven prices “way down” and wants Americans to recognize his economic achievements.

That message is central to a broader White House effort to convince Americans that their cost-of-living concerns are easing. On Monday, Trump delivered a 48-minute speech to McDonald’s executives at the company’s Impact Summit, insisting that his administration is solving the affordability crisis he claims Biden created. But his remarks failed to break through, receiving far less attention than the ongoing Epstein coverage.

Tuesday’s upcoming vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act is expected to dominate headlines once again. The bill would compel the DOJ to release all unclassified documents related to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell — from flight logs and the names of individuals tied to Epstein’s crimes, to corporate entities linked to his trafficking network and internal DOJ communications about investigative decisions. While Congress is pushing the disclosure effort forward, Trump technically doesn’t need the legislation; he could order the files released immediately, just as he did earlier this year with documents related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.

However, Trump has added a new complication: he has directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to scrutinize Epstein’s ties to three prominent Democrats — Bill Clinton, former treasury secretary Lawrence Summers, and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman — potentially slowing or reshaping the release process even as he publicly endorses the files’ publication.