The Trump administration, on its back foot following brutal election results and its failed effort to quash a House vote to release the Epstein files, is now planning to go on the attack.

“The Democrats are going to come to regret this,” said a White House official, granted anonymity to discuss the strategy. “Let’s start with Stacey Plaskett. You think we’re not going to make a scene of this?”

Documents released from Epstein’s estate showed the nonvoting delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands texting with Epstein during a congressional hearing in 2019. In those texts, Epstein appeared to try to influence the questions she asked from the dais.

Her office did not respond to a request for comment, but a staffer told the Washington Post that Plaskett had received texts from Epstein, along with “staff, constituents and the public at large,” during a hearing. The aide also said Plaskett has made her disgust over Epstein’s behavior clear.

The administration’s offensive comes amid intense frustration from the president and his top staffers who say a few wayward Republicans worked with Democrats to push a “distraction” to the forefront. In addition, White House officials fear no amount of disclosure will be enough to satisfy a significant part of their base.

The Senate approved legislation Tuesday forcing the Justice Department to release any remaining files it has on Epstein — acting hours after an overwhelming House vote to send the bill to the desk of President Donald Trump, who spent months trying to kill it.

The plan to attack – a well-worn tactic for the president – will test whether Trump still has the political muscle to cow people into submission and make those who challenge him pay a political price. It comes as questions swirl over whether the president has lost his iron grip on the GOP and is entering his lame duck period.

“President Trump has nothing to hide, but the Democrats should be very scared because they have secrets to hide,” said a second White House official, granted anonymity to discuss internal thinking. “Democrats are already trying their best to ignore one of their own members – Stacey Plaskett – texting with Epstein in 2019 during an Oversight hearing. These are the types of examples the [administration] will continue highlighting because it exposes the Democrats’ absolute hypocrisy on the issue.”

Trump has already instructed the Department of Justice to investigate links between Epstein and notable Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, former Harvard President Larry Summers and Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman.

“All these guys were friends of his,” Trump said Tuesday in the Oval Office. “What Epstein is, is a Democrat hoax to try to get me not to be able to talk about the $21 trillion [in investments] that I talked about today.”

Summers announced Monday that he would step back from public life after emails revealed that the former Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and top adviser to President Barack Obama repeatedly sought advice from Epstein on romantically pursuing a woman he referred to as his mentee.

Hoffman and Clinton were mentioned in the Epstein documents released by the House Oversight Committee. Summers, Clinton and Hoffman have not been charged with any crimes related to Epstein’s trafficking of underage girls. All three have denied wrongdoing. Hoffman on X called for the release of all the Epstein files.

The trove of materials handed over by Epstein’s estate to congressional investigators and released to the public last week also included a 2018 email Epstein wrote claiming Trump “knew about the girls,” apparently referring to the underage girls Epstein was accused of trafficking.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in relation to the Epstein allegations, and no evidence has suggested that Trump took part in Epstein’s crimes. The president also has said he and Epstein had a falling out years ago.

White House officials insist they’ve been transparent and that Republicans have played into Democrats hands, by focusing on Epstein.

“Democrats only started talking about the Epstein files once they thought they could use it to score political points against President Trump,” the second official said. “That will prove to be a mistake for them.”

The White House has called attention to $32,000 in donations Epstein made to the Democratic National Committee decades ago, which were never returned.

“Democrats and the media just fell into the same trap they set up,” said a third White House official, granted anonymity to discuss the strategy. “They knew full well their own people conspired with Epstein, and now the chickens are coming home to roost.”

A spokesperson for the DNC, after the Senate approved the bill, said, “despite Donald Trump’s best efforts to stonewall the pursuit of justice for the victims of Epstein’s horrific crimes, we are one step closer to achieving the transparency and accountability that the American people deserve.”

“Does Trump’s newest strategy finally include sharing what ‘wonderful secret’he kept with Jeffrey Epstein,” the spokesperson added, referring to a letter Trump purportedly sent to Epstein.

Trump has repeatedly denied writing the letter and sued the Wall Street Journal, which was first to report on the letter, for defamation.