The Northern Kentucky congressman appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday alongside Democratic colleague Rep. Ro Khanna of California to talk about the duo's discharge petition to force a vote on the release of the full files on Epstein.

Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie argues failure to meet the moment on the Epstein controversy could prove politically damaging to the GOP in the next election.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Sunday said that the current controversy over convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is “going to hurt Republicans in the midterms.” “This is going to hurt Republicans in the midterms,

Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie has blasted the Justice Department for its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Speaking with NBC’s Meet the Press, the Kentucky representative addressed a July 6 memo from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation concluding that Epstein died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019 and that no “client list” of wealthy co-conspirators exists.

I don’t know why it should be politically painful to be transparent,” Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, said on Sunday, referring to comments by Speaker Mike Johnson.

The lawmaker’s comments underscore the divisions within the Republican Party over the files relating to Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaker Mike Johnson ripped Rep. Thomas Massie over his fellow Republican's ongoing efforts to seek the release of the Department of Justice's files regarding Jeffrey Epstein. The post House Republican Dragged by Mike Johnson Fires Back at Speaker Over Epstein Files: ‘I Have

Congress isn't likely to change course, as was made clear after Trump’s election victory during an intraparty rift over recess appointments that split the GOP.