The House on Tuesday passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act 427–1 and the Senate quickly cleared it by unanimous consent, setting up President Donald Trump — who reversed course over the weekend — to sign a measure ordering the Justice Department to release unclassified records related to Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days.
Lawmakers in both chambers moved with unusual speed after months of friction over the release of federal records tied to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who died in federal custody in 2019 while facing sex‑trafficking charges. The Republican‑led House approved the bill 427–1, and the Senate later agreed to pass it by unanimous consent, positioning the legislation for the president’s signature. Trump has said he will sign it despite having previously denounced the push as a “Democratic hoax.” Survivors watched from the House gallery and applauded after the vote. (reuters.com)
Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana cast the lone “no” vote, calling his opposition a “principled” stand and arguing the bill, as written, could harm uninvolved people named in investigative files. “It abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure in America,” he wrote, while adding he could support an amended version with stronger privacy protections. (washingtonpost.com)
Trump reversed his stance on Sunday, urging Republicans to back the bill as a bipartisan discharge petition in the House hit the 218‑signature threshold to force action. On Tuesday, he again tried to distance himself from Epstein: “I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. I threw him out of my club many years ago ’cause I thought he was a sick pervert.” Outside the Capitol, survivor Jena‑Lisa Jones said, “It is not about you, President Trump … your behavior on this issue has been a national embarrassment.” (apnews.com)
What the bill would do: It requires the Justice Department — including the FBI and U.S. attorneys’ offices — to publish, within 30 days of enactment, all unclassified records, communications and investigative materials related to federal probes of Epstein, with limited redactions to protect victims and active investigations. It also mandates a report to Congress summarizing any withholdings and listing government officials and politically exposed persons referenced in the materials. (congress.gov)
Justice Department posture: Attorney General Pam Bondi said DOJ will follow the law and aims for “maximum transparency,” while noting some material could be withheld to safeguard victims and to avoid compromising ongoing inquiries. Days earlier, at Trump’s urging, Bondi assigned Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to examine Epstein’s ties to prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and investor Reid Hoffman. (theguardian.com)
The politics around the files: The vote capped weeks of intraparty tension for Republicans. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly pressed for full disclosure and criticized the administration’s initial resistance, while House leaders faced pressure after a bipartisan discharge petition reached 218 signatures. Survivors appeared with members from both parties to demand transparency. (knpr.org)
Earlier releases added to the momentum. The House Oversight Committee has already published thousands of pages of documents, including emails from Epstein’s estate that referenced Trump, and a trove of records that, according to a Washington Post analysis, showed Epstein exchanging texts with Del. Stacey Plaskett during Michael Cohen’s 2019 testimony. Republicans then sought to censure Plaskett; the effort failed on the House floor. In her defense, Plaskett said Epstein was a constituent and that, at the time, there was no public knowledge he was under federal investigation. (knpr.org)
Rhetoric remained sharp even as votes fell into place. House Oversight Chair James Comer accused Democrats of advancing an “anti‑Trump hoax,” while sponsors in both parties framed the bill as overdue accountability for Epstein’s victims. (oversight.house.gov)
