The House of Represented voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to direct the Trump administration to release the Epstein files to the public.
The House passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act by a vote of 427-to-1. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., did not support the measure.
“I have been a principled ‘NO’ on this bill from the beginning. What was wrong with the bill three months ago is still wrong today. It abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure in America. As written, this bill reveals and injures thousands of innocent people – witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc,” Higgins posted on X Tuesday.
“If enacted in its current form, this type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt,” he added. [Emphasis in original.]
Five members did not participate in the vote. There are currently two vacancies in the House.
“Today’s vote to finally force the release of the Epstein files is a major victory for the survivors who’ve waited decades for the truth,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., also posted on X, writing, “We must deliver justice for the victims.”
The bill as currently written would require Attorney General Pam Bondi to release to the public “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in the possession of the Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Attorneys’ Offices” related to the notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The bill allows for the withholding of information under a few circumstances, such as the privacy of victims and national security concerns.
Further Congressional Reaction to the Vote
Massie told The Daily Signal after the House vote that his constituents “overwhelmingly” supported the release of the Epstein files.
“I know it’s not scientific, but I did a Twitter poll with 127,000 responses. Ninety-three said, ‘Release the files.’ One percent said, ‘Don’t release it.’ Six percent said, ‘It’s a hoax,’” Massie told The Daily Signal.
“So, what I discovered, just sort of by probing, is that this has everybody’s attention. Everybody cares about this. Even if it’s not the most important issue, it’s important to everybody. And I had a lot of support back home,” Massie continued
The Kentucky congressman expressed concern that the success of his discharge petition could lead to the end of the House procedure.
“I’m worried that our success here is going to persuade these guys to try to get rid of the discharge petition, just like they changed the motion to vacate from the majority to a majority of nine,” Massie said.
The Kentucky lawmaker also praised his Democrat co-sponsor, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., for his media savvy and ability to work in a bipartisan manner.
“He is able to put aside the partisan bomb throwing in order to work across the aisle, and he’s really good on TV, and he knows how to book appearances on Sunday shows and the networks, and so he was, he was an important element of this, and it was his idea, really, to organize the survivor press conference,” Massie explained.
“As I have previously said, I think sunlight is the best disinfectant,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wy., told The Daily Signal.
“The Epstein files should be fully released and I’m glad that the Trump administration agrees with that position. If it is brought up for a vote in the Senate, I’ll support it,” Lummis added.
“The American people deserve the truth about Jeffrey Epstein’s horrific crimes and how he was able to evade justice for so long. Today’s vote was about full transparency, delivering answers and protecting the victims who were exploited and trafficked. The Epstein Files Transparency Act ensures unclassified records are released responsibly while safeguarding victims’ privacy. I’ve long fought to crack down on human trafficking and child exploitation, and I’ll continue doing everything I can to protect the most vulnerable,” Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., said in a statement.
Next Stop, the Senate
The legislation now heads to the Senate. President Donald Trump has said he would sign the bill if it made it to his desk and had encouraged House Republicans to support the legislation last Sunday in a social media post.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., has said that he has discussed some modifications to the legislation in the upper chamber with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
“I’m very confident that when this moves forward in the process, if and when it is processed in the Senate, which is no certainty that it will be, that they will take the time methodically to do what we have not been allowed to do in the House,” Johnson told the press on Tuesday.
At a Tuesday press conference, the speaker had expressed concerns that the legislation as written could violate the privacy of innocent people, undermine national security, and reveal the identities of some of Epstein’s victims against their wishes.
>>> WATCH: Rob Bluey weighs in on why President Trump now advocates releasing the Epstein files.
Updated to include additional reaction. This is a breaking news article and may be further updated.
