Trump foe Thomas Massie wins over MAGA allies with his push for Epstein files

Rep. Thomas Massie is gaining more Republican friends and allies as he pushes for releasing the Epstein files after having a falling with Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON — Once fighting a lonely battle against President Donald Trump, GOP Rep. Thomas Massie has found an issue that is winning him more Republican friends and political allies than he has had all year: his push to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Many of Trump’s MAGA allies on and off Capitol Hill are frustrated with Trump and top officials in his administration for dragging their feet in releasing the government’s remaining documents and records related to Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender.

But they’re rooting for Massie, who has leaned into the fight in recent weeks and made it his sole mission to get the files released. It is a rare issue on which Massie aligns more closely with many of Trump’s own supporters than Trump himself. That's a big shift for Massie, a Kentucky conservative who was swimming against the current in his opposition to Trump's megabill by raising debt concerns that fell on deaf ears with other Republicans.

Nearly a dozen House conservatives have signed on to Massie’s resolution to defy Trump and force Attorney General Pam Bondi to publish “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” that the Justice Department and FBI possess. Thirteen Democrats, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi of California and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, have joined the effort, as well.

“I have the people on my side,” Massie told reporters, pointing to a CBS News/YouGov poll that found that 89% of U.S. adults want all of the Epstein files released.