Congress has passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act with overwhelming bipartisan support, and President Donald Trump has signed it into law, requiring the Justice Department to release more documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. The move follows earlier resistance from Trump allies to forcing disclosure and comes as the president faces backlash for branding a group of Democratic lawmakers’ military-themed video as ‘seditious behavior, punishable by death.’
Congress’s passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act marks a rare moment of broad bipartisan agreement on the release of government records related to Jeffrey Epstein, even as tensions between President Donald Trump and many Democrats continue to escalate.
The legislation, authored by Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California, requires the Department of Justice to make public, in searchable and downloadable form, all unclassified files related to Epstein, with limited exceptions for active investigations and national security. According to Congress.gov and multiple news outlets, the bill passed the House 427–1 on November 18, 2025, cleared the Senate by unanimous consent on November 19, and was signed by President Trump later that day.
Khanna has been one of the leading advocates of the measure, partnering with Republican Representative Thomas Massie to advance the bill. As reported by The Guardian and other outlets, Massie filed a discharge petition in early September to force a vote, after which dozens of Democrats and a handful of Republicans—including figures such as Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene—signed on, putting pressure on House GOP leaders who were wary of antagonizing the White House.
In the weeks before final passage, Trump and his allies had resisted efforts to mandate disclosure, with some officials privately warning that backing Massie’s move would be a “hostile act to the administration,” according to reports summarized in recent coverage. Nonetheless, as bipartisan support for the bill grew, Trump publicly indicated he would sign the measure if it reached his desk, and he ultimately did so on November 19. The law gives the Justice Department 30 days to release the bulk of the files and to provide congressional judiciary panels with an unredacted list of government officials and politically exposed persons mentioned in the documents.
The political backdrop remains highly charged. On November 20, Trump used his Truth Social platform to denounce a 90‑second video released by six Democratic lawmakers with military or intelligence backgrounds, in which they reminded service members of their duty to refuse unlawful orders. According to outlets including The Guardian, the Washington Post and the New York Post, Trump accused the lawmakers of “seditious behavior,” demanded their arrest and prosecution, and amplified language suggesting that such conduct should be “punishable by death.”
In one post highlighted by those reports, Trump wrote that the lawmakers’ actions amounted to “seditious behavior” and said they should be arrested and put on trial. He also echoed or shared a supporter’s call for execution, prompting widespread condemnation from Democratic leaders, who warned the rhetoric could incite political violence. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later told reporters that the president does not want to execute members of Congress, while still maintaining that the video raised serious national security concerns. House Speaker Mike Johnson criticized the Democrats’ message as inappropriate and sided with Trump’s characterization of their conduct as sedition, though he did not explicitly endorse violent punishment.
Separate investigative efforts around Epstein continue on Capitol Hill. As first reported by the Daily Wire, the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Representative James Comer of Kentucky, has ordered former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to sit for depositions in mid‑December as part of the panel’s Epstein probe. In a November 3 letter cited by the outlet, their attorney, David Kendall, sought to substitute a written statement for live testimony, describing the Clintons’ information on Epstein as limited. Comer rejected that request and directed the couple to appear in person on December 17 and 18.
Flight logs released in prior litigation and widely reported by mainstream outlets show that Bill Clinton flew several times on Epstein’s private jet, sometimes referred to as the “Lolita Express,” on overseas trips. Clinton has consistently denied visiting Epstein’s private island, and an email from Epstein’s circle that has circulated in past court records states Clinton “was never ever there.” There is no public evidence that Hillary Clinton traveled with Epstein, and neither of the Clintons has been charged with crimes related to Epstein.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act itself does not single out any individual but is expected to shed further light on Epstein’s network and government handling of the case. Khanna and other backers say the law is intended to provide long‑sought transparency for survivors and the public, while critics within both parties have raised concerns about privacy and security risks if the release is not carefully managed.
The clash over Trump’s ‘sedition’ rhetoric and the bipartisan vote to force open Epstein‑related records together underscore the contradictory dynamics of Trump’s second term: a Congress that remains generally deferential to an increasingly powerful presidency, yet occasionally willing to assert itself on issues where public pressure for transparency is overwhelming.
