UNITY SHOWS CRACKS
The president demonstrated near-total control over his party during the 43-day government shutdown. Even with this week’s Epstein emails, some prominent conservative influencers downplayed messages that suggested Epstein believed Trump “knew about the girls.” The messages also showed Trump disapproved of his behavior and forced Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago social club in Florida.
Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein’s alleged abuse and sex trafficking of underage girls.
Republican unity has not held around the Epstein issue overall, and Democrats have still managed to cause trouble for Trump.
On the same day the government reopened, a petition supported by all House Democrats and four Republicans got the final signature needed for a vote on a bill to compel the Justice Department to release all files related to Epstein.
High-level Trump aides failed to convince Representative Lauren Boebert to take her name off the Epstein petition, going so far as to meet with her in the Situation Room, a White House space typically used for pressing national security matters.
Republican Representative Nancy Mace, another Trump loyalist, also did not budge in her support for the petition. A source familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity said that when Mace and Trump were unable to connect by phone, she wrote a message to the president that referenced her experience as a sexual assault survivor.
The recalcitrance of Boebert and Mace, members of a Republican congressional conference that has shown almost complete obedience to Trump, suggests the president will have to navigate internal dissent carefully to ensure the Epstein saga does not fracture his party heading into the midterm elections.
