On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill, in a nearly unanimous vote, to compel the release of the government’s files related to Jeffrey Epstein. The vote came after President Donald Trump reversed himself and allowed for the files’ release.
“The 427-1 vote came after a long campaign to circumvent House Republican leaders and White House officials who fought tooth and nail to convince members of their party to oppose the measure. As Democrats sought to stoke division in the GOP over the administration’s decision to withhold further information in the Epstein case, the issue proved increasingly toxic for Republicans — and Tuesday’s vote became inevitable,” CNN wrote of the vote.
“We have a chance today to make something happen, something that has not happened and should have happened decades ago, and that is to get justice for these victims and survivors and transparency for America,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who had been a leader of the effort, said, per Politico, adding that he was “embarrassed for my own party today.”
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-SC) was the only member of the House to vote against the bill.
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The bill now goes before the U.S. Senate, and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says he will try to pass it by unanimous consent. If it passes there, Trump will have to decide whether to sign it.
Before the vote, a group of Epstein accusers held a rally outside the Capitol, in which one Epstein victim described Trump as a “national embarrassment.”
“First, the administration said it would release everything, and applauded President Trump for that,” Jena-Lisa Jones, an Epstein accuser, said at the rally. “Then it fought to release nothing.”
“Now that the checks and balances of our democracy have worked, and the bill is getting passed to release the files, we are hearing the administration say they intend to investigate various Democrats who were friends with Epstein,” Jones, who said that she voted for Trump, said.
“To the president of the United States of America, who is not here today, I want to send a clear message to you,” Haley Robson, another Epstein accuser, said at the press conference, per The New Republic. “While I do understand that your position has changed on the Epstein files, and I’m grateful that you have pledged to sign this bill, I can’t help to be skeptical of what the agenda is.
