The rift within the Republican Party over the release of documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein continued to widen, with top congressional allies of President Donald Trump — including House Speaker Mike Johnson — calling for his administration to exercise greater transparency.

Republican lawmakers have blocked a move that could have forced President Donald Trump's administration to release the files on Jeffrey Epstein's investigation.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, President Trump made his case that the Jeffrey Epstein files controversy is a hoax perpetrated by Democrats.

In defending how his administration is handling supposed files on Jeffrey Epstein, he said "some stupid Republicans" fell for a hoax.

MAGA-friendly media has been torn over how to respond to a base that wants more on the Epstein files and a president who wants it to move on.

Conservative commentator Candace Owens decried the scandal as a “terminal cancer to the MAGA movement.” Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson argued: “The fact that the U.S. government, the one that I voted for, refused to take my question seriously and instead said, ‘Case closed, shut up conspiracy theorist,’ was too much for me.”

Former President Donald Trump has dismissed the ongoing controversy surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein files, labeling the matter a “hoax” in recent public remarks. His statement has drawn sharp reactions across the political spectrum and ignited further division among both supporters and critics.

Democratic lawmakers are demanding the release of more Epstein files as the issue causes fractures within the GOP.

Some of President Donald Trump’s most loyal allies in Congress aren’t satisfied by his decision to not release additional files from the Jeffrey Epstein case, and it’s threatening to deepen the MAGA divide he now faces from his base.

Steve Bannon has warned that the Republican Party could be at risk of losing dozens of congressional seats as a result of the Trump handling of the Epstein Files