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The House voted 427-1 on Tuesday to compel the Justice Department to release government records related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, marking a dramatic shift after President Donald Trump reversed months of opposition to opening files on one of the country's most notorious criminal cases.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act would require the Justice Department to publicly release documents related to Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell within 30 days of enactment, with limited exceptions for survivors' personal information and other sensitive material. Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana cast the lone vote against the measure.
The near-unanimous passage came after Trump, who was once a close friend of Epstein, dropped his resistance to the bill earlier this week. Trump's reversal opened the door for Republican lawmakers to support the legislation, though many GOP members characterized the vote as a political stunt designed to damage the president.
The vote followed heated floor debate that exposed deep partisan divisions even as members moved toward overwhelming approval. Republican lawmakers accused Democrats of orchestrating the vote to attack Trump, while Democrats countered that the president could release the documents immediately without congressional action.
"Trump has the power to release the files today. He does not even need a vote," said Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee. "What is Donald Trump hiding?"
Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio argued the vote represented Democrats' "obsession" with damaging Trump, though he said Republicans would support passage to move past the issue. Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said his panel had already released 65,000 pages of documents, issued 13 subpoenas and interviewed former Attorney General William Barr and former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta as part of its investigation.
The vote resulted from an unusual procedural maneuver in which four Republicans joined all Democrats last week to sign a discharge petition bringing the measure to the floor over leadership objections. House Speaker Mike Johnson initially opposed the effort but ultimately voted for final passage, though he called the bill flawed.
"I told my members today I'll be voting yes on this, and I suspect almost everyone will," Johnson said on the floor. "We'll send it to the Senate and we'll hope it is corrected." The speaker characterized the vote as a "political exercise" distracting from more important issues.
Republican Reps. Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Nancy Mace, who supported forcing the vote, framed the issue as one of transparency and justice for victims. "This is about the powerless taking power away from the very powerful," Mace said during floor debate.
Senate prospects for the bill remain unclear. Majority Leader John Thune has not committed to bringing the measure to the floor for consideration. However, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged to push for immediate Senate action following House passage.
"Republicans have spent months trying to protect Donald Trump and hide what's in the files," Schumer said in a statement. "Americans are tired of waiting and are demanding to see the truth." The New York Democrat said he would attempt to prevent any effort to block the bill.
Epstein, a financier with connections to prominent politicians and business figures, died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell, his longtime associate, was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking and conspiracy charges related to the recruitment and abuse of underage girls.
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