President Donald Trump's administration, facing defeat in its effort to block congressional demands for the release of remaining Jeffrey Epstein files, is preparing a political offensive against Democrats involved in pushing the measure through Congress.
The House and Senate both passed legislation Tuesday compelling the Justice Department to disclose all Epstein-related documents, sending the bill to the president's desk despite months of White House attempts to delay or derail it.
Trump reversed his opposition late Sunday and urged passage of the House version, but aides continued working behind the scenes to alter the legislation in the Senate before it advanced unchanged.
Administration officials, speaking anonymously, warned that Democrats would regret forcing the issue and signaled plans to spotlight connections between Epstein and prominent Democratic figures.
Attention has already turned to Stacey Plaskett, the nonvoting delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands, whose 2019 text messages with Epstein during a congressional hearing were included in documents released from his estate.
The White House has directed the Justice Department to investigate Epstein links to figures including former President Bill Clinton, Democratic donor Reid Hoffman, and former Harvard president Larry Summers, none of whom have been charged with crimes related to Epstein's trafficking activities.
Officials pointed to past Epstein donations to the Democratic National Committee and accused Democrats of hypocrisy in pursuing the files only when politically advantageous against Trump.
The overwhelming bipartisan support for the bill underscored limits to Trump's influence within his own party, as Republican lawmakers joined Democrats to advance the measure over administration objections.
White House officials expressed frustration that some Republicans helped elevate what they called a distraction, warning that full disclosure may not satisfy portions of the president's base suspicious of government transparency on Epstein.
Recent polling showed Trump's approval among Republicans on his handling of the Epstein matter dropping to 44 percent, with majorities across the political spectrum believing federal authorities have withheld information about Epstein's crimes and 2019 death in custody.
Trump has consistently denied wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and stated the two had a falling out years before the financier's arrest.