President's reversal on disclosure of documents reveals his inability to control Maga allies

Donald Trump’s call for Republicans to back the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files is a rare instance of the president being unable to tame his Maga base and being instead forced to accede to it.

- Sam Levine

Many Republicans are expected to support a vote in the House this week to force the justice department to release the files. Trump spent last week squeezing allies, including Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Nancy Mace of South Carolina, to back off in their support. Those efforts were unsuccessful, and when it became apparent the measure was going to pass, Trump backed it in an effort to salvage an political loss. “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,” he posted on Truth Social on Sunday evening.