How a Republican and a Democrat forced Trump’s hand on Epstein

Washington: Congressmen Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna’s months-long campaign to force US President Donald Trump’s hand on the Jeffrey Epstein files started with a text.

Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Khanna, a California Democrat, had built a relationship over the years. They often chat on the House of Representatives’ floor, and this northern summer, they teamed up on a failed attempt to use a war powers resolution to limit the president’s power to take military action against Iran without congressional approval.

At some point, they exchanged mobile phone numbers. And when Massie saw Khanna try to use an amendment to force the Justice Department to release the Epstein files in July, he had an idea. He realised the manoeuvre could be successful if it were led by a Republican.

Massie figured he and Khanna could take advantage of an arcane legislative procedure known as a discharge petition, which sidesteps House leadership, to force a floor vote.

Massie texted Khanna.

Thirty seconds later, the Democrat responded: “Let’s do it.”

Within 24 hours, they introduced their resolution and started gathering the 218 signatures they would need to force a vote on the House floor.

For the following four months, Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson worked to block Khanna and Massie’s effort. Johnson and Trump failed, and on Tuesday (Washington time), the House overwhelmingly approved Khanna and Massie’s bill. This account of the long-shot campaign’s success is based on public records and interviews with the two representatives.

Khanna and Massie have made plenty of enemies during their terms in Congress. Trump had long criticised Massie, who voted against the president’s signature tax and spending bill over the northern summer. “Some people seem to enjoy trying to inflict political pain on their own teammates,” Johnson said in July.

Khanna has not faced the same blowback within his party over Epstein; Democrats have adopted Trump’s refusal to release the files as a political talking point after seeing the issue divide the MAGA base. But Khanna spoke out against his own party as recently as last week, when he joined grassroots liberal groups and at least five other progressive House Democrats in calling for Senate minority leader Charles Schumer to step aside. He has said his party needs to elect younger members.

Despite their willingness to buck their own colleagues, Massie and Khanna’s bill quickly picked up signatures. Every Democrat signed on, and Massie was soon joined by three more Republicans: congresswomen Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace. Trump and the White House pressured all three GOP women to take their names off the petition.

The trio refused to fold, and by September 10, the discharge petition had 217 signatures, one short of the number needed to force a vote.

Then, the following week, the government shut down and the House went on break. For more than six weeks, Johnson kept the House out of session and refused to swear in Democratic congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, who had won a special election in September.

Just before the House voted to end the longest-ever government shutdown on November 12, Grijalva took her oath of office and became the 218th signature on the petition.

That Friday, Trump publicly disowned Greene, calling her a “traitor” and withdrawing his endorsement of her.

But Khanna and Massie knew that once the 218 threshold was reached, names could not be removed from the petition.

“Knowing the rules helps,” Khanna said.

Soon, victory seemed within their grasp. On Sunday night, Trump gave in, endorsing their effort in a social media post.

By Monday, the night before the vote, they were feeling confident. Shortly after 8pm, Massie, 54, and Khanna, 49, entered Khanna’s office laughing, en route from a joint TV appearance down the hall.

“Can I get you a coffee or something?” Khanna asked Massie as the two walked in. They settled on a couch, angled slightly toward each other. Each crossed his left leg over the right. Each watched the other intently, nodding frequently. They sometimes answered questions in concert.

Are they friends?

Massie: “Oh, abso -”

Khanna: “Yeah!”

“lutely,” Massie finished. “And if he needs me to campaign against him in California -”

Khanna laughed.

“I will campaign for his opponent.”

Massie splayed across two of the couch’s three black leather cushions, cowboy boot resting across his khaki-suited knee, palms spread on the leather beside him. To his left, Khanna crossed his legs tightly, hands folded on the lap of his navy suit.

“Thomas is one of the most sincere people, even when you disagree with him,” Khanna said.

They think their past experience – and shared fearlessness – in standing up to their respective party leadership helped their effort succeed, they said.

The next morning, Khanna and Massie started early. At 9am, Massie, Khanna and Greene joined more than a dozen survivors of Epstein’s abuse outside the US Capitol. A crimson sign on the lectern read: “EPSTEIN FILES TRANSPARENCY ACT.” Protesters outside the gate waved signs demanding the release of the files.

“Today is the first day of real reckoning for the Epstein class,” Khanna said.

“We fought the president, the attorney-general, the FBI director, the speaker of the House and the vice president to get this win,” Massie crowed. “But they never – they’re on our side today, though. So let’s give them some credit as well. They are finally on the side of justice.”

“I want to see every single name released so that these women don’t have to live in fear and intimidation, which is something I’ve had a small taste of in just the past few days,” Greene said.

Then, the three lawmakers stepped to the side and listened as survivors and their family members spoke. Massie and Khanna stood next to each other, both in navy blue, each with his left hand clasping his right.

Some of the women held up photos.

“This was me at 14 years old.”

“This was me at 17 years old.”

“This was me at 22 years old.”

Several addressed the president directly, pleading for him to release the files.

“I voted for you, but your behaviour on this issue has been a national embarrassment,” Jena-Lisa Jones said.

“Thank you for defending democracy! Thank you!” one man called out as the members walked toward the Capitol after the conference wrapped. He held a sign that said “RELEASE THE FILES NOW!”

A couple of hours later, the House passed the bill, 427-1. Even Johnson voted for it. After the vote gavelled closed, Massie and Khanna turned to face the survivors of Epstein’s abuse standing in the gallery above them and clapped. The survivors hugged one another, clasped their hands over their hearts and blew kisses to the members.

Later on Tuesday, the Senate agreed to consider the legislation passed once it arrived from the House, sending it to the president’s desk.

The representatives were gleeful at that prospect – “I’m tired of winning,” Massie quipped. They had warned senators against inserting loopholes that could undermine their effort to reveal additional names of figures involved with Epstein’s dealings.

Massie and Khanna think their effort will succeed in compelling the release of additional documents. But just how much information is actually revealed, they know, is in the president’s hands.

“When the Congress acts with robustness in a powerful coalition, the president folds,” Khanna said. “The question is, is he gonna follow through with justice for survivors?”

The Washington Post

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.