Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that the way the Trump administration and his allies have handled convicted sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein’s case reveals a larger problem of public trust in the government.
Buttigieg slammed House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) early shutdown of the U.S. House of Representatives in an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep that aired Monday.
“Republicans would rather close that half of the Congress than allow the Epstein files to come out or somehow impede President Trump’s decision to block those files,” he said.
Johnson sent lawmakers home early last week, telling reporters his party is “done being lectured on transparency,” after Democrats pushed to force votes on releasing files in Epstein’s case.
Buttigieg told NPR that Johnson’s decision reveals that there is “obviously, something very sensitive for President Trump” in Epstein’s case.
