The push to release the Jeffrey Epstein files split the Republican Party in a way that few political fights have in recent years. A small group of GOP lawmakers broke ranks with President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson to force the issue into the open. Among them were Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, two Republicans who defied enormous pressure from their own party’s leadership.
Boebert, one of only four Republicans to sign the petition, came under direct pressure from the Trump administration to back down. Speaking on The Tucker Carlson Show, Massie described what that pressure looked like. “They took her over to the Situation Room,” he said.
