The debate over the release of the long-sealed Epstien files may have revealed a power shift within the Republican Party a year before US midterm elections.

After months of hesitation, US President Donald Trump is now poised to sign legislation that compels the Justice Department to hand over its Epstein records.

Not long ago, he had brushed off growing demands for full transparency around the government’s Epstein documents, dismissing the matter in July as “pretty boring stuff”.

But by Sunday, with a wave of House Republicans signalling their intent to vote for disclosure, the 79-year-old abruptly encouraged them to proceed. That encouragement cleared the way for a lopsided 427–1 vote on Tuesday.

The episode stood out in US politics. Instead of Republicans rallying behind Mr Trump, it was the party’s rusted-on loyalists who nudged him into shifting course.

Whether the forthcoming documents reveal anything new remains to be seen, but the political manoeuvring has already laid bare tensions within the Republican Party.

It has also exposed the influence of Mr Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) base, whose views on the Epstein matter have been hard for party leaders to ignore. Mr Trump famously ran on the Epstein issue but performed a stunning about-face once in office, assuming that the millions who voted for him would follow suit.

They didn’t.

Some strategists argue Mr Trump would have struggled to drag attention elsewhere had he not backed the release, with millions on both sides of the fence pushing for the release that many believe will expose prominent figures on the left and right.

Martha Zoller, a conservative radio host and Republican strategist in Georgia, said the shift the reflected reality.

“I think he sees that this is an issue he’s underwater in with average Republicans,” she told the BBC. “I think Trump had to do this in this point in time because he wants to be back on the right side.”

Polling taken in late September suggested the momentum was already against him.

A NPR survey at the time found that 67 per cent of registered Republican voters supported releasing all Epstein files with victims’ names removed, while another 18 per cent favoured releasing at least some of the material with similar protections.

Chris Ager, former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party, told the BBC that voters care deeply about clarity.

“Transparency on what happened is extremely important to the voters.” Mr Ager welcomed Trump’s backflip, describing it as evidence that the party can debate and still land in the same place.

“That you can have a disagreement on an issue … and come to a conclusion where essentially everyone is agreeing: Let’s release the files,” he said.

Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene on Sunday insisted that she still supports Mr Trump despite his blistering attack on her in which he described her as a traitor and lunatic.

In her first interview since Mr Trump withdrew his support for her on Friday, Ms Greene, 51, made overtures to end her red-hot feud with the president while also doubling down on her criticisms of him.

“I do support him and his administration, and I support them in delivering the campaign promises we made to the American people,” Ms Greene told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.

“His remarks, of course, have been hurtful … the most hurtful thing he said, which is absolutely untrue, is he called me a traitor and that is so extremely wrong.

“I certainly hope that we can make up. I can only speak for myself, I’m a Christian and one of the most important parts of our faith is forgiveness, and that’s something I’m committed to.”

The high-profile rupture comes after Ms Greene in recent weeks distanced herself from the president, as he faces growing criticism over US cost of living concerns and the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

The dispute also highlights the rift in the MAGA movement.

Until recently a diehard pro-Trump supporter, Ms Greene has broken with the president on a host of issues.

Mr Trump expressed frustration with her for the first time on Monday, saying she had “lost her way.” Ms Greene’s sudden shift has prompted speculation that she is lining up for her own presidential bid in 2028, although she has dismissed it as “baseless gossip.”

Perhaps the most sensitive area of criticism has been Ms Greene’s position on the Epstein scandal, which ensnared Mr Trump again in recent days with the release of a new trove of emails.

After becoming a leading voice calling for justice for victims of the notorious sex offender over the summer, Ms Greene this week was one of a few MAGA rebels who backed a push to vote on demanding the public release of files relating to the Epstein probe.

“It has all come down to the ‘Epstein files’ and that is shocking and, you know, I stand with these women, I stand with rape victims … and survivors of trafficking … I believe the country deserves transparency in these files,” she said in her Sunday interview.

In an earlier post on X, she also touched on the Epstein scandal. “As a woman I take threats from men seriously,” Ms Greene said.

“I now have a small understanding of the fear and pressure the women, who are victims of Jeffrey Epstein and his cabal, must feel.”