Congress Twists Trump’s Arm
For the first time, Congress prevails against presidential authoritarianism to force Trump to declassify the file on Epstein, the pedophile
The overwhelming, majority approval of a bill to force the declassification of the legal material relating to the Epstein case in the U.S. Congress has a significance beyond what the files might reveal. It’s the first time that the U.S. Congress has reaffirmed its power over the White House after 10 months of being overwhelmed by the fickle and volatile decisions made by Donald Trump, who acts like an autocrat, ignores the division of powers and takes every objection to his decisions as a betrayal.
The legal cases against financier Jeffrey Epstein for pedophilia and child trafficking produced thousands of documents that are now in the custody of the Department of Justice. Some of them were declassified by judges and others by the current government, but the majority remained secret after Epstein’s death in prison in 2019. Epstein was a well-known figure in powerful circles in New York and Miami and among his closest friends were former President Bill Clinton, ex-prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and Trump, then a reality TV star. Mountbatten-Windsor was expelled from the royal family because of the scandal. In the transcript pages seen so far, the close-knit friendship between Trump and Epstein is clear, although so far nothing suggests that Trump knew about or participated in any of his crimes.
For months, President Trump has opposed making these documents public, despite the demands made by his most radical and conspiracy theorist voters. Last week, that huge demand moved to Congress with a shocking vote. The bill, which declassifies the material, was approved with a vote of 425-1 in the House of Representatives and was approved unanimously in the Senate. Before he was humiliated, Trump took the lead in the demonstration and, in a U-turn, to save face, publicly asked Republicans to vote in favor of the bill.
We have to celebrate the fact that, with a majority in both chambers, the Republicans in Congress have finally realized that you can say no to Trump. It’s a key moment for this epiphany. In a matter of weeks, the campaign for the 2026 primaries for congressional elections will really start in earnest, and the country will once again blame Washington for problems other than the Epstein files. Among others, these include cruelty against immigrants through para-fascist methods and the cost of living, which Trump has not only not managed to reduce, but has probably made worse with ludicrous tariffs that are suffocating foreign trade. The tension between Trump’s fickle interests, which answer only to his pocketbook, and the interests of lawmakers who have to answer to voters, can only increase.
The overwhelming, majority approval of a bill to force the declassification of the legal material relating to the Epstein case in the U.S. Congress has a significance beyond what the files might reveal. It’s the first time that the U.S. Congress has reaffirmed its power over the White House after 10 months of being overwhelmed by the fickle and volatile decisions made by Donald Trump, who acts like an autocrat, ignores the division of powers and takes every objection to his decisions as a betrayal.
The legal cases against financier Jeffrey Epstein for pedophilia and child trafficking produced thousands of documents that are now in the custody of the Department of Justice. Some of them were declassified by judges and others by the current government, but the majority remained secret after Epstein’s death in prison in 2019. Epstein was a well-known figure in powerful circles in New York and Miami and among his closest friends were former President Bill Clinton, ex-prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and Trump, then a reality TV star. Mountbatten-Windsor was expelled from the royal family because of the scandal. In the transcript pages seen so far, the close-knit friendship between Trump and Epstein is clear, although so far nothing suggests that Trump knew about or participated in any of his crimes.
For months, President Trump has opposed making these documents public, despite the demands made by his most radical and conspiracy theorist voters. Last week, that huge demand moved to Congress with a shocking vote. The bill, which declassifies the material, was approved with a vote of 425-1 in the House of Representatives and was approved unanimously in the Senate. Before he was humiliated, Trump took the lead in the demonstration and, in a U-turn, to save face, publicly asked Republicans to vote in favor of the bill.
We have to celebrate the fact that, with a majority in both chambers, the Republicans in Congress have finally realized that you can say no to Trump. It’s a key moment for this epiphany. In a matter of weeks, the campaign for the 2026 primaries for congressional elections will really start in earnest, and the country will once again blame Washington for problems other than the Epstein files. Among others, these include cruelty against immigrants through para-fascist methods and the cost of living, which Trump has not only not managed to reduce, but has probably made worse with ludicrous tariffs that are suffocating foreign trade. The tension between Trump’s fickle interests, which answer only to his pocketbook, and the interests of lawmakers who have to answer to voters, can only increase.
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