The House of Representatives and the Senate acted swiftly on Tuesday to approve a bill that forces the Department of Justice to release its files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Senators unanimously approved the Epstein Files Transparency Act just hours after it passed the House of Representatives in a near-unanimous vote—and even before the bill had officially been sent to the Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat from New York) requested unanimous consent on the Senate floor Tuesday.
This means the bill will go directly to President Donald Trump for his signature, who has pledged to sign it into law.
The measure requires the Department of Justice to release Epstein’s case files, a well-connected financier who died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sexual abuse and sex trafficking of minors.
The bill, which last week gained enough bipartisan support to bypass committee and go straight to a House vote, received a major boost over the weekend when Trump reversed his stance and urged Republicans to support it.
Representatives Thomas Massie (Republican from Kentucky) and Ro Khanna (Democrat from California), the bipartisan duo who co-authored the legislation and forced the House vote despite leadership objections, had spent the past few days securing the necessary support.
This measure marks a significant victory for lawmakers from both parties who have led this effort for months.
However, the release of Epstein’s files could be delayed, as the bill allows the Department of Justice to withhold information that could interfere with an ongoing federal investigation, meaning Trump’s recent demand that the Department of Justice investigate Epstein’s ties to other powerful figures could stall the process.
Image: Opinion
