A House vote on the Epstein File Transparency Act is expected to pass on Tuesday.
President Trump says Republicans should vote to release Jeffrey Epstein files
In a stunning reversal, President Trump posted on Truth Social that the Republican Party should release the Epstein files.
WASHINGTON – After months of political maneuvering, Congress is set to formally vote on the Jeffrey Epstein file.
The House is scheduled to consider a bill Tuesday that would require the Justice Department to release as much information as legally possible about the federal investigation into a disgraced financier and accused sex trafficker.
This is likely the first major defection by Congressional Republicans since President Donald Trump began his second term. President Trump initially opposed the Epstein File Transparency Act introduced by Representative Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky), but over the weekend he called on House Republicans to support the bill. And on Monday, he said he would sign the bill if it passes both houses of Congress.
Still, he didn’t seem particularly happy about it.
“No matter what we give, it will never be enough,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
The president’s about-face comes amid growing political pressure not only from his base but also from conservative lawmakers who typically dislike differing with party leaders. Support for the bill has steadily increased despite new revelations about Trump’s past relationship with Epstein (the president has consistently denied knowing about Epstein’s alleged abuses).
The recent addition of new Democrats to Congress secured enough votes to bring the bill to the floor for a vote, over the objections of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana).
House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) suggested Monday that the vote would likely be “very bipartisan.”
When will the House vote on releasing the Epstein files?
The House vote on the Epstein File Transparency Act is scheduled to begin at approximately 2:00 pm ET on Tuesday, November 18th, according to an update from Minority Whip Katherine Clark.
If the bill passes, it will go to the Senate, where it must also be passed. If the bill passes both houses of Congress, it will be signed into law by President Trump.
Watch the USA TODAY live stream on YouTube to watch the House vote in real time.
-Melina Khan
Six years later, what’s driving the Epstein defense?
Lisa Phillips, who describes herself as a survivor of Epstein’s abuse, told USA TODAY that after Epstein’s death in 2019, many women began coming forward with their stories.
“Something happens when an abuser dies,” Phillips said. “You are free.”
–Erin Mansfield
Epstein accuser releases childhood photo of himself
Women who say they were abused by Mr. Epstein hold up photos of themselves from when Mr. Epstein started abusing them.
Ages include 14, 15, 16, and 17 years old.
“Someone has to protect these children,” Wendy Avis said. “We deserved it then, and we deserve it now.”
-Erin Mansfield
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene holds the Justice Department accountable
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she expects the House to vote nearly unanimously to release the Epstein files, but said the fight is far from over.
He cited language in the bill that would allow the Justice Department to withhold documents related to ongoing investigations.
“The real test is whether the Justice Department will release the files or whether everything remains tied up in the investigation,” Green said.
She also questioned whether a list of Epstein’s accomplices would ever be made public, referring to a list created by survivors and kept private “out of fear in their hearts.”
“Will the list of names be made public?” she asked. “That’s the real test.”
-Erin Mansfield
Congressman Ro Khanna calls for the removal of Epstein associates
California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, a co-sponsor of a bill to force the release of the Epstein files, said those associated with Epstein should not be honored in our society.
“There should be no buildings named after people in the Epstein class,” Khanna said at a news conference outside the Capitol on Tuesday morning. “There should be no scholarships named after them.
“Many survivors would say these people are still celebrated in our society,” he added. “That’s terrible. There needs to be accountability.”
-Erin Mansfield
Larry Summers says he is stepping back from public commitments over relationship with Epstein
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Harvard University President Larry Summers said Monday he is stepping back from public commitments after recently released emails revealed that he corresponded regularly with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A trove of more than 20,000 pages of emails released by the House Oversight Committee on November 12 revealed that Summers sought relationship advice from the disgraced investor in 2019.
The Harvard Crimson reported that Summers said in a statement Monday that he was “deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they caused.” “I take full responsibility for my poor decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein.”
Summers served as Bill Clinton’s Treasury secretary and was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. A spokesperson for the liberal policy group announced in a statement that Summers is ending his CAP Fellowship. He is also the director of the Mossaba Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School, where he will continue to teach.
−francesca chambers
“Shut up, you pigs,” President Donald Trump told reporters Friday while speaking with members of the media about the Epstein file on Air Force One.
In footage released by the White House of a Nov. 14 meeting with reporters, Trump says, “Quiet, quiet piglet,” when a female reporter off camera begins to ask if there was anything “incriminating” in Epstein’s emails. The president then appears to be waving his finger in her face.
The video went viral on social media Tuesday morning, when People magazine published an article about the exchange.
-Sarah D. Wire
Alicia Arden, who says she was assaulted by Jeffrey Epstein in a Santa Monica hotel in 1997, implored members of Congress to vote to release Epstein’s files.
“As a victim, I ask you to release these files once and for all,” Arden told reporters at a press conference on Monday. “There’s no good reason not to do that. This should really be a simple bipartisan issue. Why is there just one ‘no’ vote?”
Arden said the more whistleblowers are denied information in their files, the more they think politicians are trying to hide it.
She said releasing the files would reveal “who else helped Epstein and who else victimized so many children and adults.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN on Monday that he had recently talked “quite a bit” with President Trump about a bill that would authorize the full release of the Epstein file.
Prime Minister Johnson said support for the bill, which is expected to pass the House of Commons on Tuesday, would be contingent on the Senate amending it to strengthen protections for victims from publication.
“That’s part of the problem,” he said, adding that Trump “never had anything to hide.”
–Zachary Sharmell
