As Kentucky U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie asserts strong positions in opposition to President Donald Trump, he increasingly looks like the future of the Republican Party.
Americans who appreciate political courage, including Trump supporters, are celebrating Massie’s push for release of the “Epstein files,” the records of the criminal investigation into the late pedophile and child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Massie is laser-focused on forcing the U.S. Department of Justice to release the files, as Trump is backtracking on his repeated promises to let the public know who witnessed or participated in Epstein’s crimes.
Principled politicians willing to oppose their own party are hard to find, particularly in Washington, D.C., where office seekers need millions of dollars to pay for their campaigns, and don’t want to offend their party leaders and potential donors by taking a stand.
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Massie is clearly aggravating Trump by calling for release of investigative records in which the president’s name reportedly appears because of his close friendship with Epstein.
Massie is sponsoring a House Resolution requiring Attorney General Pam Bondi to release “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in the possession of the Department of Justice” connected to Epstein.
In the four years between his first and second terms, Trump and his supporters frequently called for the release of the files. Vice President JD Vance, Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, Donald Trump Jr., and others like Sean Hannity were particularly adamant about “transparency” and “holding people accountable.”
A few months ago, on Hannity’s show, Bondi said the FBI received a “truckload” of Epstein evidence, and “everything’s going to come out to the public. The public has the right to know.”
On June 5, Trump’s close adviser Elon Musk posted on X: “Time to drop the really big bomb, realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.” Musk then wrote: “Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.”
Weeks later, the Justice Department released a memo stating “no further disclosure (of Epstein information) would be appropriate or warranted.”
Massie is almost alone among Republicans in pushing back on the government’s Epstein cover-up, and in doing so, he offers his party hope for the future. Trump got millions of votes from people who saw him as the anti-politician who would take on Washington’s elite political class, expose years of wrongdoing and punish whoever was doing it.
Recently, on “Meet the Press,” Massie said: “The release of the Epstein files is emblematic of what Trump ran for and why he got the populist vote. There seems to be a class of people beyond the law, beyond the judicial system … and we all thought that when Trump was elected, he would be the bull in the china shop, and he would break that up and bring transparency.”
“They’re the ones — it’s the president’s own attorney general, FBI director, children … and vice president who said these files need to be released,” Massie said. “We’re just trying to hold their feet to the fire.”
If the Epstein cover-up continues, more Trump supporters could move away from the president and toward leaders like Massie, who fight for transparency and against dishonest dealings that Republicans hoped Trump would banish from Washington.
This could mean bright political prospects for Massie. In Kentucky’s 2026 U.S. Senate race, three Trump bootlickers are groveling for the president’s endorsement, which may be far less valuable next year than they hope.
Although Massie hasn’t recently expressed interest in the Senate race, there’s a lane open for him because he has a political philosophy that lines up with most Republicans, but includes an independent, anti-corruption streak that appeals to voters looking for a consistent conservative who’s willing to fight the establishment.
If Trump continues to hide the Epstein files, Massie may be the only bull in the china shop.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.
