Rep. Nancy Mace says she and the small bloc of GOP women who defied President Donald Trump on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files “ran out of patience a long time ago” — and she’s not shy about saying why.
Mace, a South Carolina Republican known for bucking her own party’s leadership, joined forces with Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado in a weeks-long push to force the Department of Justice to hand over long-sealed records tied to Epstein and his network. Their effort unfolded despite fierce resistance from Republican leadership and Trump’s own Justice Department, which repeatedly urged them to back off.
Instead, the trio dug in.
“I think we ran out of patience a long time ago, and we’re honey badgers,” Mace told The Hill. “I hope… there will be more of us that will speak out.”
The pressure campaign reached a breaking point this week, when Trump — after months of political fallout and a steady drumbeat of criticism — capitulated. Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and the president quietly signed it late Wednesday with no public remarks.
For Mace, the fight was deeply personal. A survivor of sexual assault, she has spoken openly about her rape as a teenager, the trauma that drove her out of high school, and her eventual climb to becoming the first woman to graduate from The Citadel. After meeting with Epstein survivors in September, Mace left the room visibly shaken.
Her refusal to remove her name from the House effort angered Trump, who leaned heavily on her and Boebert to drop their support for forcing a vote. Both refused.
Greene, one of Trump’s most loyal allies, has now found herself on the outs after the president labeled her a “traitor” for siding with Mace. At a press conference ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Greene fired back alongside co-sponsors Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) — and with Epstein survivors standing behind her.
“Let me tell you what a traitor is,” Greene said. “A traitor is an American that serves foreign countries and themselves. A patriot is an American that serves the United States of America and Americans like the women standing behind me.”
Under the new law, the Justice Department must release the Epstein files within 30 days. But questions remain about how much the public will actually see. Attorney General Pam Bondi could still withhold documents by citing the new investigation Trump ordered into Epstein’s ties to Democratic associates.
“You can adjust for whatever investigations are going on,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). “But if you do a blanket hold, I think they’re going to have a lot of people angry.”
