President Donald Trump has lost control of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
The House Oversight Committee – the top investigative panel in the House – will issue an array of subpoenas related to the Justice Department’s Epstein investigation, rebuffing Trump’s pleas to his base to move on from the matter.
Republicans on the Oversight panel tried to soften the blow by also agreeing to subpoena former President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton over their interactions with the disgraced financier, as well as all the attorneys general and FBI directors since Epstein first came under criminal investigation in 2005.
Yet suddenly, the White House finds itself not getting any cover from Hill Republicans. In fact, GOP lawmakers are teaming up with Democrats to seek depositions and documents.
The Epstein subpoena – offered by Democratic Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania – demands the Justice Department produce the very material that Trump said doesn’t matter. Three Republicans backed the request — Brian Jack (Ga.), Scott Perry (Pa.) and Nancy Mace (S.C.).
A separate subpoena, offered by Tennessee GOP Rep. Tim Burchett, compels testimony from Ghislaine Maxwell, an Epstein associate serving a 20-year sentence at a federal prison in Tallahassee, Fla. Congressional investigators will depose Maxwell Aug. 11 at FCI Tallahassee, a “low-security” prison. Justice Department officials are scheduled to interview Maxwell today.
Subpoena surprises. Not only is this political embarrassment for Trump, but it’s also a practical issue for Republicans. The congressional subpoenas all but guarantee that the Epstein story will continue to play out for at least another few months – just as Congress and the Trump administration wrestle with government funding.
It also comes as the Wall Street Journal – in its second Epstein scoop in a week – reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi told Trump in May that his name was among hundreds of others in the Epstein files. Of course, that doesn’t mean Trump is implicated in any of Epstein’s crimes. But it contributes to the sense that the White House is losing its handle on the story, a dangerous place for any president.
Democrats also have seized on the Epstein issue quite effectively, forcing rank-and-file Republicans to vote repeatedly against something the base deeply cares about.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said Democrats’ Epstein messaging has resonated “because we didn’t check with any pollsters or strategists.”
“The difference here is we just used our good instincts to say it’s bad to be affiliated with a pedophile and a cover-up and just ran right into it without checking with anyone,” Schatz added.
We may see even more Epstein-related votes get GOP support. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider several bills and U.S. attorney nominations during a business meeting this morning.
Judiciary Committee Democrats are expected to offer at least one Epstein amendment. Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) was polling the panel’s Republicans Wednesday night to see if they would stick with him to defeat these requests. It’s not yet clear how they’ll react.
Part of the problem is that Trump’s allies – with the president’s urging – have spent the last decade insisting that Epstein was part of an insidious pedophile ring that included top government officials, Democrats and business leaders. The Trump faithful saw Epstein’s lenient 2008 plea deal as symbolic of what’s wrong with the country – the rich and well-connected can do whatever they want with no consequences.
Trump isn’t blameless here either. His administration has given GOP lawmakers little reason or cover to stick by his side, a fact that’s deeply frustrated the Republican leadership.
It’s also symptomatic of a larger messaging problem plaguing Trump and senior White House officials — the president is winning many of the biggest policy fights yet losing on the political-communications war. That’s bad news for Republicans heading into this fall’s gubernatorial races and the 2026 midterms. Some examples:
1) The One Big Beautiful Bill: This is Trump’s signature legislative achievement, likely the biggest of this term. It extends and expands the 2017 Trump tax cuts, as well as slashing taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security.
However, the centerpiece of Trump’s domestic agenda is deeply unpopular with voters. Medicaid work requirements are modestly popular, but are very susceptible to Democratic attacks. Furthermore, Obamacare and Medicaid itself are growing in popularity.
Some news on the OBBB front: Liberal group Protect Our Care is launching a $525,000 radio ad campaign attacking Republicans for threatening Medicaid coverage for rural Americans. The ads are running in Arizona, Florida, California, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington.
2) Immigration: Trump has had stunning success closing the U.S. border to illegal crossings. Yet heavy-handed tactics used by ICE during raids searching for undocumented migrants, combined with harsh deportation policies, have caused Trump’s numbers to fall dramatically on this issue.
3) The economy: The stock market is hitting new highs, unemployment remains low and the White House has begun to roll out some high-profile trade deals, including a new agreement with Japan this week.
But Trump’s approval rating on the economy – thanks mainly to tariffs and inflation – is underwater by 11 points.
It appears the White House seems to see some opportunity to change the message. Trump will visit the Federal Reserve at 4 p.m. today. Trump has threatened to fire Fed Chair Jay Powell over cost overruns at the massive Fed headquarters renovation project, so we’ll see how this goes.
