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Alone on Epstein Island

Inside the Epstein anxiety on Capitol Hill, where Republicans can’t begin their recess quickly enough as the fracas continues to intensify—and Trump keeps making it worse. Yes, Democrats are benefitting from the scandal, but mostly as a chance to message…

donald trump
Democrats, meanwhile, have seemingly reached a near-unified consensus on how to navigate the issue: Use the drama as ammunition for midterm messaging by painting Trump as an out-of-touch, elitist promise-breaker unconcerned with vital cost-of-living issues. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Abby Livingston
July 21, 2025

Anxiety is ripping through the Republican conference on Capitol Hill as everyone wonders whether the Jeffrey Epstein saga will have legs long enough to walk the remainder of Trump’s agenda—and the Republican majority—right off a cliff. Democrats, naturally, are enjoying their moment of schadenfreude as they, along with some strange Republican bedfellows, work to keep the issue alive through the coming August recess, and perhaps into the midterm season.