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Congress moved with rare speed and near unanimity Tuesday to force the Justice Department to publicly release its files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, delivering a sweeping bipartisan rebuke to months of resistance from President Donald Trump and Republican leaders.
The House voted 427-1 to approve the bill, a dramatic culmination of a longshot push that began in July when a bipartisan group used a procedural petition to circumvent Speaker Mike Johnson’s control of the floor. Hours later, the Senate passed the measure by unanimous consent, bypassing a roll call vote and signaling overwhelming support across the Capitol.
The action represents a remarkable turnaround for an effort Trump had long dismissed as a “hoax” and worked behind the scenes to block. Facing political pressure, the president reversed himself in recent days and said he would sign the bill.
For survivors of Epstein’s abuse, the votes amounted to a milestone in their years-long campaign for accountability.
“These women have fought the most horrific fight that no woman should have to fight,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said outside the Capitol, flanked by several survivors. “We fought against the most powerful people in the world, even the president of the United States, to make this vote happen.”
Only Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., voted against the bill, saying he feared it could expose information about innocent people referenced in the federal investigation.
What the bill would do
The legislation orders the Justice Department to release within 30 days all unclassified files related to Epstein, his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, individuals and entities linked to Epstein, and the federal investigation into his 2019 jailhouse death. The department may redact information that identifies victims or implicates ongoing investigations — but not material that could cause “embarrassment, reputational harm or political sensitivity.”
The Justice Department has already released tens of thousands of documents to the House Oversight Committee, whose investigation has yielded extensive records showing Epstein’s ties to political figures, Wall Street executives, global leaders and Trump himself.
Trump’s reversal
Trump has maintained that he severed ties with Epstein long ago, though the two socialized in the 1980s and 1990s. After months of opposing the disclosure effort, the president abruptly shifted course Sunday and urged Republicans to support the bill.
Survivors who rallied outside the Capitol Tuesday urged him to follow through.
“We are exhausted from surviving the trauma and surviving the politics around it,” one survivor said. Another, Jena-Lisa Jones, who said she voted for Trump, pleaded: “I beg you, Donald Trump — please stop making this political.”
The group had lobbied Johnson for months. Their effort stalled as Johnson kept the House shuttered during the government shutdown and delayed the swearing-in of Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., whose signature provided the required 218th signer on the discharge petition last week.
Once Grijalva signed, passage became inevitable — and both Johnson and Trump relented.
Johnson’s stance
Johnson argued Tuesday that the bill risks unintended consequences, including the potential release of sensitive investigative information involving victims. He nevertheless voted for it, saying, “None of us want to be accused of not being for maximum transparency.”
Rather than waiting for the discharge petition to ripen, Johnson brought the bill to the floor under a fast-track procedure requiring a two-thirds majority — a threshold easily met.
Senate moves quickly
Johnson privately urged the Senate to amend the bill to add further protections for victims and whistleblowers. But Senate leaders rejected that approach, warning that any changes would delay release of the documents.
When senators convened Tuesday evening, it became clear no one would object to passing the measure as written. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., a close Trump ally, signaled GOP support with a thumbs-up to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer before the unanimous approval.
“This is about giving the American people the transparency they’ve been crying for,” Schumer said. “This is about holding accountable everyone in Jeffrey Epstein’s orbit who enabled the abuse of hundreds of girls for years.”
