I'd argue this is why the government shutdown and the Epstein files are so politically important.

If the government is shut down, all the new things are just different ways in which the government shutdown is breaking stuff. No healthcare. No SNAP. Furloughed workers. Airports without air traffic control. It was a rut for Republicans since the 24hr news cycle couldn't move past the shutdown. Then Democrats went and handed them a ladder because they're abysmal at doing politics.

And the Epstein files play into the conspiracy brain that has been cultivated in the right wing mind for so long. 24hr news cycle moving on from the story feels like the media trying to bury the story, which feeds into that conspiracism even more. And since this isn't a made up conspiracy theory, right wingers can't control the narrative as well as they usually do. There's a reality to run up against. Everyone already knows who Epstein was and what he did. Trump is obviously implicated. And the House leader has shut down the entire House to prevent the Epstein files from making any progress towards a public release. That obviously feeds into the conspiracy that the files are damning and powerful people are working together to cover it up. I think Marjorie Taylor Green recently announced she's quitting her current public office role as a result of backlash from wanting to see the Epstein files released and fighting with Trump over it. These are wedge issues that don't work in Republicans' favor.