‘Democrats Will Regret This’: Trump White House Plots Aggressive Counteroffensive After Epstein Files Vote

Backed into a corner by the bipartisan push to release Epstein documents, the Trump administration prepares a political assault targeting Democrats—testing the president’s waning grip on the GOP.

WASHINGTON | Still reeling from painful election setbacks and a failed attempt to block the House vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, the Trump administration is gearing up for a full-blown political counteroffensive. Senior White House officials say they intend to punish Democrats for pushing forward the legislation—and believe they now have ammunition of their own.

“The Democrats are going to come to regret this,” one White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “You think we’re not going to make a scene of this? Let’s start with Stacey Plaskett.”

White House Signals Retaliation as Senate Forces Disclosure

The Senate’s unanimous approval Tuesday of the bill requiring the Department of Justice to release any remaining Epstein-related documents came just hours after the House passed it by a staggering 427–1 margin—a bipartisan rebuke of the administration’s efforts to quash transparency.

The vote sent the measure directly to President Donald Trump’s desk, despite months of behind-the-scenes pressure from the White House to kill the bill.

Inside the West Wing, the mood has darkened. Officials complain that Republicans “worked with Democrats to create a distraction” and fear that releasing the files will never satisfy a segment of the conservative base that distrusts the Justice Department.