WASHINGTON, D.C.: On November 18, both the House and Senate quickly passed a bill requiring the Justice Department to make public its files on Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender. This was a breakthrough after months in which President Donald Trump and top Republican leaders tried to block the effort.
Back in July, a small bipartisan group of House members filed a petition to get around Speaker Mike Johnson's control of the House floor. At the time, it seemed unlikely to succeed — mainly because Trump was telling his supporters to call the issue a "hoax."
But neither Trump nor Johnson managed to stop the vote. In recent days, Trump accepted that the bill would pass and said he would sign it. The Senate then approved it unanimously just hours after the House vote, without even holding a formal roll call.
The firm bipartisan support on November 18 showed how much pressure Congress and the Trump administration were under to release the long-demanded Epstein files. Epstein, a wealthy financier with many powerful connections, died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while waiting for trial on charges of sexually abusing and trafficking underage girls.
Major Milestone for Epstein Abuse Survivors
For survivors of Epstein's abuse, the vote was a major milestone in their long fight for accountability.
"These women have fought the most horrific fight that no woman should have to fight. And they did it by banding together and never giving up," said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, standing with survivors outside the Capitol on the morning of November 18.
"That's what we did by fighting so hard against the most powerful people in the world, even the president of the United States, to make this vote happen," added Greene.
In the final House vote, only one lawmaker opposed the bill: Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana, a strong Trump supporter. He said he feared the bill could reveal information about innocent people mentioned in the investigation.
The bill requires the release—within 30 days—of all files and communications related to Epstein, including details about the investigation into his death. The Justice Department can hide (redact) information about Epstein's victims or ongoing investigations, but not anything simply because it is embarrassing or politically sensitive.
Even before the vote, thousands of pages of emails and documents from Epstein's estate had already been released through a House Oversight Committee investigation. These records show Epstein's ties to global leaders, Wall Street figures, influential politicians, and to Trump himself. In the UK, King Charles III removed his brother Prince Andrew's remaining titles and forced him out of his royal residence because of pressure over his relationship with Epstein.
Trump has said he cut ties with Epstein years ago, but he spent months trying to avoid further disclosures.
Meanwhile, many Republican voters continued to demand the release of the files. Adding to the pressure, Epstein survivors gathered outside the Capitol, holding photos of themselves as teenagers and sharing their stories despite the cold weather.
The survivors had also met with Speaker Johnson in September, but had waited months for the vote. As support for the bill grew, it became clear it would pass, and both Johnson and Trump changed their positions. Over the weekend, Trump publicly told Republicans to vote for it.
The pressure increased further when emails revealed former Harvard president and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers had maintained a friendly relationship with Epstein even after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Early this week, Summers said he would step back from public roles to "rebuild trust," telling The Harvard Crimson he was ashamed of his actions and accepted full responsibility for staying in touch with Epstein. He said he would continue teaching his economics courses at Harvard.
