The White House was quietly lobbying senators to slow-walk a vote to force the release of investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein even as President Donald Trump publicly insisted his administration had nothing to hide and urged Congress to act, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
The effort unraveled on Tuesday when senators approved the measure passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives without the changes Trump aides had pressed for, exposing the limits of the president’s sway over his party on an issue that has bedeviled him since he returned to power this year.
The measure is now expected to land on Trump's desk as soon as Wednesday, and he has indicated he plans to sign it.
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