President Donald Trump may have acquiesced to demands that give his approval for the Jeffrey Epstein files to be released, but he is not forgiving Republicans for not saving him from the embarrassment of backing down.
According to a report from Politico’s Dasha Burns, the president believes the GOP leadership was outmaneuvered by Democrats, with some White House insiders also fuming.
Burns reported that Trump realized last week that his grip on Republican lawmakers was slipping and that the vote in the House, being led by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA), was adding more wavering GOP lawmakers.
"The president remains frustrated that members of his own party have essentially laid a trap he cannot avoid in part because administration officials insist there is nothing more of substance for them to unveil,” Burns wrote.
According to one Trump insider, there is an overwhelming belief in the White House that the document release will just lead to even more demands of the embattled president.
“Are people ever going to be satisfied? No, because people in this country genuinely believe that the federal government is in possession of a list of pedophiles who work with Jeffrey Epstein. And that is just not true,” they complained.
“Trump still believes Democrats outplayed the GOP, which is partly why he is so angry with his party and why he tried so hard to prevent the House from voting, said a person close to the White House granted anonymity to discuss the Epstein case,” Burns wrote, with her source admitting, “POTUS doesn’t like to be told what to do or give Dems a win, so he’s been fighting it.”
With the House vote expected on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has indicated he will set a date for a Senate vote shortly after.
