WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday requiring the Justice Department to release all files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, marking one of the most bipartisan votes of the year. Every Republican except Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana supported the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which passed after a discharge petition forced Speaker Mike Johnson to bring it to the floor.
Johnson criticized the vote as a “political exercise” pushed by Democrats, echoing former President Trump’s remarks that the issue was being used as a distraction. Still, Trump urged Republicans on Sunday to back the bill, saying, “we have nothing to hide.” That signal secured near-unanimous GOP support.
Higgins, long opposed to the measure, said releasing investigative files could harm “thousands of innocent people,” including witnesses and family members. The legislation includes victim-protection provisions, but Higgins argued its scope “abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure.”
Epstein survivors were present for the vote and pressed members to approve the bill. The discharge petition reached its required 218 signatures last week, helped by Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace, and Lauren Boebert remaining on the petition despite earlier pressure from GOP leaders to withdraw.
The bill now moves to the Senate, where Majority Leader John Thune has not committed to holding a vote. Republicans have signaled they want amendments, which could send the bill back to the House. A previous Democratic attempt by Sen. Chuck Schumer to force a vote failed earlier this year when the GOP-controlled Senate tabled the measure 51–49.
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