Inside Hakeem Jeffries' embrace of the Epstein strategy
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 14. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is shocking some colleagues by fully embracing efforts to exploit divisions between President Trump and his MAGA base over the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Why it matters: Amid demands from the liberal grassroots that Democrats take off the gloves with Trump, the Democratic leader has shifted from vowing not to swing at every pitch to adopting a "more is more" strategy.
- Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told Axios he has been "very closely in coordination" with Jeffries' office and that "all indications we've gotten is support from the leadership on this."
Zoom out: The Democratic leader has long been known for his often taciturn approach to salacious stories of the day, preferring to remain disciplined and on-message in his public communications.
- But he has signaled to allies he sees the Epstein story as part of the "more is more" approach and that it fits neatly into a broader narrative about alleged corruption in the Trump administration, sources told Axios.
- "He's not going to let go of Epstein," one senior House Democrat, who had initially predicted Jeffries wouldn't touch the issue, told Axios on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about internal discussions.
State of play: Democrats have spent the last week gleefully needling Trump and his Republican allies in Congress after the Justice Department said that Epstein had no "client list" and died by suicide.
- That claim runs counter to popular, longstanding conspiracy theories on the right, prompting backlash from much of the GOP grassroots.
- Several Democrats quickly weighed in by alleging that the Trump administration was engaged in an intentional coverup of the Epstein matter.
Driving the news: What began as individual efforts to squeeze the Trump administration into releasing all documents related to Epstein morphed into a fully leadership-sanctioned campaign in less than 24 hours.
- Reps. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) and Khanna introduced measures that would demand and force the DOJ to publish the documents, respectively.
- Jeffries said Monday night he had not spoken to either lawmaker or evaluated their proposals, but hours later his members on the House Rules Committee were trying to get both measures to the floor.
- On Tuesday, Democratic leadership made its support clear by trying to pass a procedural motion that would force a vote on Khanna's bill. Both efforts failed.
What they're saying: Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), who was among the first members to weigh in on Epstein last week, told Axios "it seems like leadership is full steam ahead. ... I'm surprised. I felt like I was kind of out there by myself."
- Said House Oversight Committee ranking member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.): "I think you've heard the leader himself, his posture is the same as ours: [Republicans] have been the ones obsessed with this ... and now they want to run away from it."
What we're hearing: Even as Jeffries has given his blessing, he has cautioned not to abandon other messaging tactics that the party sees as fruitful — part of his "more is more" strategy.
- In a meeting of House Democrats' steering committee on Monday night, Jeffries urged lawmakers to keep hammering the administration on issues like the cost of living, according to two lawmakers who were present.
- "This is something he does really well, is trying to keep us focused," said one of the members.
The bottom line: "It's a clear fit in something that's a huge priority for us, which is the corruption," a second senior House Democrat told Axios.
- "You never want to take your eye off cost of living, we're going to ride that all the way through, but we've got to find a way to walk and chew gum."
