Epstein mess sets alarms blaring as advisers fear Trump lost grip on GOP: report

https://www.rawstory.com/white-house-2674305077/

The White House is publicly projecting confidence that President Donald Trump can weather whatever storms come out in the Jeffrey Epstein files, but a new report reveals an apparent fear his second term could be swamped by a Category 5 scandal.

The president and his top lieutenants failed to persuade congressional Republicans to back off from the Epstein case, and Trump publicly signaled his support for a vote to compel his Department of Justice to release investigative files on his sex trafficking network. The Washington Post provided new reporting on the behind-the-scenes strategizing for his U-turn.

"It marks not only a moment of personal frustration for Trump, according to advisers, but has raised alarms among some Republican operatives about the party’s strength moving into the midterms," the Post reported. "Trump’s base in recent weeks has divided over a host of issues, including the United States’ relationship with Israel, antisemitism in the GOP, extending immigration visas to Chinese students and farmworkers, and whether Trump has been too focused on foreign policy issues at the expense of providing economic relief and addressing other domestic issues."

Trump personally tried to pressure individual GOP lawmakers to oppose a floor vote on the files, according to two sources, but House Republicans instead defied his orders on an issue that advisers say exasperated him.