President Donald Trump's sudden Sunday capitulation to release the files related to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein handed his "biggest GOP foe in Congress a major victory," Politico reports.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Trump's "despised GOP opponent," joked Monday that Trump "got tired of me winning," after the president bowed to the "inevitable" when it came to the release of the files.
Massie co-sponsored the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) with Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) and used a procedural tool called a discharge petition to force a House floor vote on the legislation.
"The campaign to avoid the vote got remarkably ugly in the days before Trump finally conceded, with the president personally attacking Massie for recently remarrying after the sudden death last summer of his wife of more than 30 years," Politico writes.
Hours before Trump’s reversal, one of his top political advisers, Chris LaCivita called Massie “garbage” in an X post.
LaCivita is "carrying out a Trump-ordered effort to unseat Massie from the rural northern Kentucky seat he has held since 2012," Politico explains.
Massie, Politico reports, has not backed down from Trump's threats and has actually done better than ever in standing up to him.
"Politically, he has seen the best fundraising of his congressional career, entering October with more than $2 million in his campaign coffers. As for the personal attacks, Massie said Monday he and his wife were laughing them off," Politico says.
“She said, ‘I told you we should have invited him to the wedding!’” Massie said.
But his stance on the Epstein scandal has been nothing less than serious, seeking to put Epstein's victims "front and center amid the battle," Politico reports, adding that he has done so with his three Republican colleagues—Reps. Marjore Taylor Greene (R-GA), Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO).
"In an effort to undercut Massie’s effort, GOP leaders and the Justice Department worked to release 30,000 pages of DOJ documents in early September, right after Massie could begin gathering signatures on his petition," Politico notes, adding that "lawmakers quickly realized most of the materials had been previously released."
Despite all efforts of the Trump administration to avoid the files and the scandal, Massie has prevailed.
The GOP representative says the "Epstein drama reflects how Republicans are starting to take stock of a post-Trump political world," Politico reports.
“They need to look past 2028 and wonder if they want this on their record for the rest of their political career,” Massie says.
“Right now, it’s OK to cover up for pedophiles, because the president will take up for you if you’re in the red districts — that’s the deal,” Massie told reporters last week. “But that deal only works as long as he’s popular or president. … If they’re thinking about the right thing to do, that’s pretty obvious: You vote for it.”