Article snippet: MORE offered a muted defense of the embattled Labor secretary and as GOP senators criticized his involvement in a plea deal for a wealthy financier accused of sex trafficking. Republican senators predict Acosta will eventually have to resign over what they say appears to have been a “sweetheart deal” 11 years ago for Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire who counted President Trump and former President Clinton in his circle of acquaintances. “It’s up to the president, but he’ll probably have to resign just so the Democrats stop hammering,” said a GOP senator who praised Acosta’s tenure as Labor secretary and described him as a “good communicator” who is attentive to labor issues in lawmakers’ home states. Acosta was the U.S. attorney in charge of Epstein’s case in Florida more than a decade ago when Epstein pleaded guilty to charges of soliciting prostitution. The guilty plea resolved multiple allegations that Epstein had molested underage girls. He served only 13 months in prison and was allowed to leave regularly to work a day job. He did not face federal charges. The Republican senator said the optics of going easy on someone in Epstein’s situation are terrible and would likely outweigh Acosta’s explanation to GOP lawmakers during his confirmation proceedings in 2017 that he took the best deal he could get to punish Epstein. A second GOP senator also predicted that Acosta would come under pressure to submit his resignation, while a third Republican senator who also r... Link to the full article to read more