'Game over': Observers blast 'pathetic' GOP Senator for 'covering up' Epstein crimes
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), with U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), speaks to reporters while Senate Republican leaders hold a press conference following their weekly policy lunch as the partial government shutdown continues, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 7, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura

A key GOP Senator faced significant pushback from political analysts and observers on Sunday after he refused to commit to holding a vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files if legislation makes it to the Upper Chamber.

Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives are expected to hold a vote on Tuesday on a discharge petition to force President Donald Trump's administration to release the Epstein files, something he promised to do while on the campaign trail. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) discussed the possibility of the Senate voting on the legislation if the House passes the bill during an interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday.

"This is not about truth, this is about an attempt by the Democrats to make President Trump a lame duck president, and I'm not gonna aid and abet them in their effort to do that," Barrasso said.

Political analysts and observers blasted Barrasso's comments on social media.

"Game over," Matthew VanDyke, founder of Sons of Liberty International, posted on X. "He just admitted that the #Epstein files are so bad for #Trump that their release ends his presidency."

"All you are doing is aiding and abetting pedophiles," nonprofit communications consultant RJ Sauter posted on X. "If Trump is innocent then release the files. Only guilty folks cover it up; that is what you’d be enabling."

"This is about covering up crimes. Period," Fred Wellman, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Missouri, posted on X. "These pathetic people have sacrificed their morals and ethics for political power. They hate sex trafficking…unless it’s their people doing the crimes."

"What does Barrasso think is in the Epstein files that would make Trump a lame-duck president if they're released?" author James Surowiecki posted on X.

SmartNewsTrump NewsVideo