Michael Barbaro

And it featured victims of Jeffrey Epstein and this bipartisan group of lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats, who have forced the Trump administration to back a measure that would require it to release Democrats.

all of its Epstein files, something President Trump has fought tooth and nail.

So we're not going to go inside the Capitol to talk to our colleague Annie Carney about how these lawmakers persuaded President Trump into reversing himself and backing this measure to release the Epstein files.

And then we're going to watch as this bill, in a couple hours we think, gets passed perhaps unanimously.

And Annie should be back here.

Hello.

Well, thank you for making some space at your little closet here for us and for making time for us in general today.

So, and just to start, this has been an extraordinary few days at the Capitol that brings us to Tuesday's vote.

And I'd argue that this vote feels like a major moment, not just in the Epstein story, whose victims have pleaded for it,

but for the entire second term presidency of Donald Trump because of how ferociously he fought this vote ever happening at every turn and with every available tool until suddenly he gave up, which he very, very rarely does in a political fight.

So tell us the story of how over the past few days, President Trump concluded that he had to give up the fight here.

Right.

The petition, which we should just say as a reminder, harkens back like months.

And know to be exceedingly loyal to President Trump.

They say we will stick with this petition.

Right.

So let's get back to the part of the chronology where suddenly, because this congresswoman-elect is finally sworn in, their votes really matter.

Right.

This is a room...

The Situation Room that we regard it cinematically as the place where the Cuban Missile Crisis is being overseen and where bin Laden's killing is being watched by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.