In a dramatic turnaround, President Trump declared on Truth Social that House Republicans “should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat Shutdown.”

“President Trump is making a last-ditch push to dissuade House Republicans from supporting a measure this week to release files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in what is shaping up as a major test of GOP loyalty to the president,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Trump failed last week to stop a House petition from reaching the critical 218th signature, including those of four Republicans, prompting the House to hold a vote this coming week mandating that the Justice Department turn over its Epstein-related files. While the proposal is expected to pass with all Democrats and at least some Republicans in the narrowly divided chamber, broader GOP defections could show the limits of the White House’s power.”

Ron Brownstein: “Over the past several decades, the general trend has been that attitudes toward presidents from both parties have exerted growing influence over other elections. But even against that broader trend, Trump stands out.”

“In this month’s elections, as in 2018 and 2020, voters who disapproved of Trump’s job performance voted for the other party’s candidates at an even higher rate than for any other recent president. The power and persistence of that pattern — in both the midterm and presidential year elections during Trump’s first term — suggests that the single most important variable in most midterm contests next year will be whether more voters in that race approve or disapprove of his record in the White House.”

New Yorker: “The President’s self-appointed loyalty enforcer inspires fear and vexation across Washington. What’s behind her vetting crusades?”