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What Trump’s Massive Epstein Defeat Means for His Presidency

A near-unanimous vote to release the Epstein files marks a stunning failure for Trump — and a turning point in his presidency.

Dan Pfeiffer

Nov 19

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Well, that was fast.

In the span of a week, we went from Speaker Mike Johnson keeping the House out of session for more than a month and refusing to seat a duly elected Democrat to prevent a vote on releasing the Epstein files; to Trump calling anyone who signed the discharge petition a traitor; to the House and Senate passing the bill.

The vote in the House was 427–1, and the Senate deemed the bill passed — meaning it was approved unanimously. Rep. Clay Higgins was the lone “no” vote and probably deserves some perverse credit for being the only Republican willing to stick with his principles of protecting Donald Trump (and a child sex trafficker) at all costs.

This is a stunning turnaround. Trump and the Republican Party have spent months doing everything in their power to prevent the release of the Epstein files and shield Donald Trump from further disclosures about his relationship with America’s most notorious sex trafficker. They called the bipartisan efforts to force the release “a Democratic hoax.” They ignored the pleas of Epstein survivors. They claimed the House Oversight Committee’s half-hearted investigation was sufficient and that there was no need to release the files. Just yesterday, Speaker Johnson insisted — incorrectly and disingenuously — that this bill would hurt the victims.

In the end, they all voted to release the Epstein files. I’ve argued that Trump’s efforts to cover up his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein rise to the level of a Watergate-era scandal. So the pending (and potential) release is a big deal on its own — but it’s also a major turning point in Trump’s presidency.

Here are a few quick thoughts on what the vote means, how we got here, and what to watch next.

1. Trump Has Never Been Weaker

For the last eleven months (and much of the last decade), Trump has maintained an iron grip on the Republican Party. Through fear, threats, bullying, and sheer force of will, he has forced Republicans to do his bidding — no matter how damaging it was to their political futures or personal dignity. Congressional Republicans supported his pardons of people who tried to murder them, abided his corruption, approved unqualified nominees, and voted for some of the most politically odious legislation in history.

Those days are over. ...