Shadow of Jeffrey Epstein hovers over 'vulnerable' GOP senators: Ex-lawmaker
While the battle rages in the Republican-controlled House over an upcoming vote on releasing the notorious Jeffrey Epstein files, multiple Republican senators who are facing re-election in 2026 are about to find they will also have to step up and tell the voters where they stand.
And that could be a major problem for some, former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) wrote for MSNBC.
According to McCaskill, a political analyst from MSNBC, once the House votes, where it is expected to succeed, the demand will fall in the lap of the GOP-controlled Senate, where Republicans will have to read the room and decide on which side of the fight they want to be on.
With the Donald Trump White House working behind the scenes to undercut the Epstein file release, a Republican senator in a tight race could risk the president endorsing their primary opponent in retribution.
According to McCaskill, it is about to get “really interesting” for a handful of Republican lawmakers.
“We now have some senators who are facing real opposition next year. In Ohio, Republican Sen. Jon Husted — who took Vice President JD Vance’s vacant seat — is running against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown,” she wrote before noting, “You’ve also got Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine and Sen. John Cornyn in Texas, who will likely both be facing some tough opposition heading into next year. Even Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican from Mississippi, could end up with a serious Democratic opponent.”
The former senator suggested those senators will have to make a calculation on how much “political capital” they want to expend to keep the files hidden.
“This is not going to be a political winner for the Republican Party,” she observed and then predicted, “And, believe me, those members of Congress know it — and they know it a lot better than Trump does.”
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