U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert has dug in her high heels and put her hand on the holster. Despite being put under extraordinary pressure, Boebert will leave her name on the discharge petition to force a vote to release the Epstein files.
I applauded Boebert — maybe for the first time ever — when she signed the discharge petition earlier this year. While she did not take center stage in the same way her bombastic colleague U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene did, the Colorado congresswoman nonetheless took a step only a handful of other Republicans were willing to take.
At the time, the petition was one signature short of forcing Speaker Mike Johnson’s hand. But a few weeks later, Democrat Adelita Grijalva won a special election in Arizona to replace her father who passed away in March. She promised to add her name to the petition once sworn into office.
That last part — the swearing in — proved to be a stumbling block. Johnson refused to admit her to Congress. Due to the government shutdown, Johnson claimed that business in the House could not proceed, including Grijalva’s swearing in ceremony. The longer the shutdown went on, the more ridiculous his intransigence became.
Before long it was clear his true reason for delay was to keep her from signing the petition. Given that the Department of Justice had already admitted that President Donald Trump’s name appeared repeatedly throughout the files, it was clear Trump wanted Johnson to do everything possible to deny a public release.
But when the shutdown ended, so did Johnson’s cover.
Johnson could no longer keep the House from voting to release the Epstein files and, in turn, thousands of documents linking Jeffrey Epstein to Trump. That is probably about the same time Boebert was summoned to the White House.
Of the four Republicans who signed, Boebert always appeared to be the most likely to flip. U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie made the underlying motion for discharge; Greene had appeared on camera with Epstein’s victims and survivors — the start of a broader break from Trump; and U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace has long touted herself as an advocate for sexually abused women.
Consequently, Boebert became the center of a lot of attention.
Beyond a mere call from Trump, Boebert ended up in the most secure room in the entire country with Trump and the nation’s top law enforcement officials, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. It is hard to picture a more intimidating environment.
Nonetheless, Boebert walked out unchanged.
For the life of me, I cannot understand how that happened. Boebert is above all a political opportunist and survivor. She saw an opportunity to unseat former U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton in a primary and took it. When she barely survived her reelection, she hightailed it across the state to a safer, redder district. She has brushed off verbal faux pas’s, family drama and R-rated theatrics to stay in Congress.
None of those compare to the ire of Trump. Not even close.
Boebert effectively courted a primary next year, one where Trump may personally oppose her. That has been a death knell for almost every member of the GOP who crossed Trump over the past 10 years. Just ask Liz Cheney or Mitt Romney or Jeff Flake or … you get the point.
So, why?
Maybe she has been listening to some of the fringiest of right-wing fringe podcasts. Many have been disillusioned by the Trump administration’s failure to follow through on its promise to release the documents. That particular rabbit hole leads to some very weird places, including my personal favorite from last week wherein some MAGA pundits alleged Patel’s girlfriend is a Mossad agent who honeypotted him to cover up for Epstein. Bonkers.
But, reports do suggest that when Boebert left the Situation Room she felt even more strongly there was a conspiracy against the release.
She may believe that the Trump ship is sinking and sees this as her best chance to secure a seat in a lifeboat. With her frenemy MTG already paddling away, she may see this as a chance to get out before the crowd.
And maybe Boebert knows it is just the right thing to do. Whatever else I have said about Boebert’s rhetoric, when she believes in something she commits to it entirely. Unlike other politicians, she cannot be easily swayed. If she is convinced that it is a moral imperative to release the Epstein files, there likely isn’t anything anyone can do to change her mind.
Sometime in the next few weeks the House will vote to release the Epstein files. There will likely be a stampede of GOP members, particularly those in tough 2026 elections, who will vote in favor. But when it happens, remember that it will only happen because Boebert had the bravery to buck Trump now.
Mario Nicolais is an attorney and columnist who writes on law enforcement, the legal system, health care and public policy. Follow him on BlueSky: @MarioNicolais.bsky.social.
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