White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s one-word response to a question about Andrew and Tristan Tate was cited Saturday as evidence of the political strain caused by President Donald Trump’s ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein.

Asked whether Trump or his administration intended to intervene in the UK extradition case involving the Tate brothers, Leavitt answered simply: “No.”

Sarah Baxter, a columnist for The i Paper, argued Saturday that the brief reply showed how much Trump’s political capital has been drained by his association with Epstein. Baxter wrote that the president can no longer afford to use that capital to defend two accused sex abusers, even though the brothers have been prominent allies.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio took a similar position a day earlier while speaking from the Philippines. “There’s no role for us to play at this moment or maybe ever in that regard,” Rubio told reporters, according to Axios.

The comments matter because the case sits at the intersection of criminal proceedings, extradition policy and presidential politics. Any formal U.S. role would be closely scrutinized because the charges were filed by British prosecutors and because the administration had previously faced questions over whether it sought favorable treatment for the brothers abroad.

The administration’s stance represents a notable shift. In February 2025, the Financial Times reported that Trump officials had pressured Romania to ease travel restrictions on the Tate brothers. Days later, Andrew and Tristan Tate boarded a private jet to Fort Lauderdale.

The brothers, who are dual British-American citizens, were arrested by U.S. Marshals in Miami on July 18 after British prosecutors filed 38 new sex-crime charges against them, raising their combined total to 59 counts. Andrew Tate faces 42 charges, including rape, sex trafficking and offenses involving indecent images of a child. Tristan Tate faces 17 charges.

Joseph McBride, the brothers’ lawyer, who previously represented January 6 defendants, has sought to frame the case in political terms. He wrote on X that the Tates were being held in solitary confinement as “political prisoners on American soil.” Andrew Tate also claimed he had been placed in a unit next to “a cannibal who screams throughout the night.”

Those claims have not prompted a change in the administration’s position.

On Capitol Hill, Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ), a member of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter this week to Chair James Comer seeking an investigation into “potential political interference” in the Tate case. Ansari also requested that Barron Trump be called to testify about any knowledge he may have of the brothers’ alleged crimes. A spokesperson for the Tates has previously described reports linking Barron Trump to Andrew Tate as fake news.