WATCH LIVE: House meets as Trump reverses position on vote on Epstein

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says House Republicans should vote to release the files in the Jeffrey Epstein case, a stunning reversal after previously opposing the proposal as a growing number of members of his party supported it.

The House of Representatives meets at 12 noon EST. Watch the live stream in our video player above.

“We have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move forward with the Democrats’ hoax perpetrated by the lunatics of the radical left in order to distract from the great success of the Republican Party,” Trump wrote on social media late Sunday after landing at Joint Base Andrews after a weekend getaway in Florida.

Trump’s statement came in the wake of a fierce battle within the Republican Party over the files, including an increasingly nasty split with Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has long been one of his staunchest supporters.

The president’s shift is an implicit admission that the measure’s supporters have enough votes to pass the House, though its future in the Senate is unclear.

This is a rare example of Trump backing down due to opposition within the Republican Party. In his return to office and his second term as president, Trump has largely succeeded in consolidating his power in the Republican Party.

Read more: Trump defends Tucker Carlson after interview with Nick Fuentes, far-right activist known for his anti-Semitic views

“I’m not interested!” Trump wrote in his social media post. “All I care about is that Republicans get back to some point.”

Lawmakers backing the bill expect a big win in the House this week with a “flood of Republicans” voting in favor, bucking the GOP leadership and the president.

In his opposition to the proposal, Trump reached out to two Republican lawmakers who signed it. One of them, Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert, met last week with administration officials in the White House Situation Room to discuss the matter.

The bill would force the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in federal prison. It would be permissible to withhold information related to Epstein’s victims or ongoing federal investigations.

“There may be 100 votes or more” from Republicans, said Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., among the lawmakers who discussed the legislation in appearances on news shows Sunday. “I hope to have a veto-proof majority on this legislation when it comes to a vote.”

Read more: Trump cuts ties with Marjorie Taylor Greene, accusing Georgia Republican of going ‘far left’

Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., filed a motion to dismiss in July to force a vote on their bill. This is rarely a successful tool that allows a majority of members to bypass House leadership and force a vote.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Los Angeles, criticized the discharge petition effort and sent members home early for the August recess when the GOP’s legislative agenda was upended by demands for a vote on Epstein. Democrats also assert that the seat of Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., has been held up to delay her becoming the 218th member to sign the petition and get the necessary threshold to force a vote. Signature Moments became No. 218 after being sworn in last week.

Massie said Johnson, Trump and others who criticized his efforts “will suffer a big loss this week.”

“I’m not tired of winning yet, but we are winning,” Massey said.

The viewpoint of the Republican Party leadership

Johnson appears to expect the House of Representatives to decisively support Epstein’s bill.

“We’re just going to get this done and move on. There’s nothing to hide,” he said, adding that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released “a lot more information than the discharge petition, their little gambit.”

Read more: Read Jeffrey Epstein’s newly released emails about Trump

The vote comes as new documents raise new questions about Epstein and his associates, including a 2019 email Epstein wrote to a journalist in which he said Trump “knew about the girls.” The White House accused Democrats of selectively leaking emails to discredit the Republican president.

Johnson said Trump “has nothing to hide about this matter.”

“They’re doing this to go after President Trump based on this theory that he had something to do with it,” Johnson said. “And he doesn’t.”

Trump’s association with Epstein is well-established, and the president’s name was included in records released by the Justice Department last February as part of an effort to satisfy public interest in information from the sex trafficking investigation.

Trump has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and just because someone’s name is in the investigative files does not mean otherwise. Epstein, who committed suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial, had many prominent acquaintances in political circles and celebrities besides Trump.

Khanna expressed more modest expectations about the vote count than Massey. However, Khanna said he hopes 40 or more Republicans will join the effort.

“I don’t even know how involved Trump is,” Khanna said. “There are a lot of other people involved who need to be held accountable.”

Read more: What’s next for Congress as it seeks to release more Epstein files?

Khanna also asked Trump to meet those who were abused. He said some will be at the Capitol on Tuesday for a news conference.

Republican lawmakers who fear losing Trump’s support because of how they vote will have a mark on their record that, if they vote no, could hurt their long-term political prospects, Massie said.

“This voting record will last longer than Donald Trump’s presidency,” Massie said.

MAGA split

On the Republican side, three Republicans joined Massie in signing the impeachment petition: Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Boebert.

Trump publicly announced he had resigned from Greene last week and said he would endorse a challenger against her in 2026 “if the right person runs.”

Green attributed the repercussions with Trump to the fact that “unfortunately, it all goes back to the Epstein files.” She said the country deserves transparency on the issue, and that Trump’s criticism of her is confusing because the women she spoke to said he did nothing wrong.

Read more: Despite significant electoral losses, Republican leaders insist there is no problem with GOP policies

“I have no idea what the files are in. I can’t even guess. But these are the questions everyone is asking, why are we fighting this so hard?” Green said.

Trump’s feud with Greene escalated over the weekend, with Trump sending a final social media post about her while still sitting in his helicopter on the White House lawn when he arrived home late Sunday, writing, “The truth is, no one cares about this traitor to our country!”

Even if the House approves the bill, there is no guarantee that Senate Republicans will approve it. Massie said he just hopes Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-D., will do “the right thing.”

“The pressure will be there if we get a big vote in the House,” Massie said, believing “we could have a flood of Republicans.”

He watches: Trump disputes with MAGA ally before vote to release Epstein files

Massie appeared on ABC’s “This Week,” Johnson appeared on “Fox News Sunday,” Khanna spoke on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” and Greene was interviewed on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in preparing this report.