President Donald Trump is expected to sign the House bill to force the Justice Department to release files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after it cleared the Senate.
After the House voted 427-1 Tuesday to approve the bill, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer requested unanimous consent to immediately pass it once it was delivered to the Senate, which was granted.
For months, Republicans and President Donald Trump have sought to quash the House from voting on the measure to release documents and communications about Epstein’s alleged child sex trafficking ring and ties to high-profile individuals.
Survivors of Epstein sat in the House chamber as lawmakers voted to pass the measure, some tearful. During a press conference earlier in the day, many criticized the president for refusing to release the files without congressional action.
The president has accused Democrats of manufacturing a “hoax” around the files to distract the public from Republican successes.
But under pressure from several Republican lawmakers, including former Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the president reversed his position Sunday and told GOP lawmakers to agree to the bill. He promised Monday to sign the bill if it got to his desk.
Senate acts with lightning speed to pass Epstein files release after Trump gives green light
The Senate did not add amendments, despite overtures from House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had initially opposed the initial vote in the House until President Donald Trump made a last-minute about-face to say he would sign the legislation.
“When a bill passes the House for 27 to one and the president said he’ll sign it in law, I’m not sure that the there’s going to be a need for an amendment or desire for an amendment process,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told The Independent after the House held its vote.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) requested unanimous consent for the legislation to deem it passed as soon as it came to the Senate floor, sending it to Trump’s desk.
Read on…
Eric Garcia18 November 2025 23:20
Thomas Massie responds to Mike Johnson’s calls to amend Epstein bill: ‘A fool’s errand’
Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who co-sponsored a bill to release government files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has responded to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s calls to amend the legislation.
Despite Johnson voting for the bill, he insisted that the Senate amend it. The speaker has argued that the bill doesn’t do enough to protect Epstein survivors.
“Amending this is a fool’s errand. I know why the Speaker’s doing that. He’s trying to save face,” Massie said Tuesday, per NBC News’ Sahil Kapur. “He just voted for a bill that he’s spread lies about for five months in order to try to kill it. And then he had to vote for it because the president told him to. And so he has to pursue some kind of amendment in order to save face.”
The Senate ended up not amending the bill. Instead, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s request for unanimous consent to immediately pass the legislation once it was delivered to the Senate was granted.
Rachel Dobkin18 November 2025 23:00
Trump says he doesn’t care when the Senate passes the Epstein bill after the upper chamber quickly approves the measure
After the House voted 427-1 Tuesday to approve a bill to force the release of government files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer requested unanimous consent to immediately pass it once it was delivered to the Senate, which was granted.
In response, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I don’t care when the Senate passes the House Bill, whether tonight, or at some other time in the near future, I just don’t want Republicans to take their eyes off all of the Victories that we’ve had…”
Trump has promised to sign the bill if it gets to his desk.
Rachel Dobkin18 November 2025 22:50
House Democrats defend Stacey Plaskett for Epstein texts
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin defended Delegate Stacey Plaskett, who reportedly sent texts to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing.
A resolution from Republican Congressman Ralph Norman called for Plaskett to be censured and removed from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
“There’s nothing that House Republicans can do to disgrace Stacey Plaskett because House Republicans continue to disgrace themselves,” Jeffries of New York said on the House floor Tuesday.
Raskin of Maryland said Plaskett was simply “taking a phone call from her constituent,” adding, “I don’t think there’s any rule here against taking phone calls in a hearing.”
Plaskett represents the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned a private island known as Little St. Thomas.
Read more about the Plaskett-Epstein texts:
Rachel Dobkin18 November 2025 22:40
Senate will pass Epstein bill after Chuck Schumer pushed for unanimous consent
The Senate will pass the House bill to force the government to release files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pushed for unanimous consent.
Once the bill comes to the Senate, it will pass automatically and then be brought to President Donald Trump’s desk. Trump has promised to sign the bill.
Rachel Dobkin18 November 2025 22:31
Chuck Schumer says he will ask for unanimous consent for Senate to pass bill to release Epstein files
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that he will ask for unanimous consent for the upper chamber to pass the House bill to release government files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“As soon as the House sends us the Epstein bill, the Senate should move without delay to pass it unamended and send it on to the president’s desk to be signed into law,” the New York Democrat said on the Senate floor. “We should pass this bill as soon as possible, as written, and without a hint of delay.”
Rachel Dobkin18 November 2025 22:20
Watch: Epstein survivor says accountability has escaped multiple presidencies
Ariana Baio18 November 2025 22:05
House votes near unanimously to release the Epstein file
The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed legislation compelling the Department of Justice to make public all of its files on the pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. But when, or if, the files will ultimately be released remains unclear.
Read more from Eric Garcia:
Eric Garcia18 November 2025 21:45
Republican senators voice support for releasing Epstein files
Senators Rand Paul, Chuck Grassley, Bill Hagerty and Markwayne Mullin are among the Republicans who have said they would support the release of the Epstein files in the Senate immediately.
Haggerty said on X that he would support the release of the files just as President Donald Trump does.
Ariana Baio18 November 2025 21:33
Greene says she will read the names mentioned in Epstein files on House floor
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene applauded her colleagues for passing the bill to release the Epstein files nearly unanimously and said she would read the names of the individuals named in the files if they are fully released by the Senate and president.
“Americans are done being lied to. These survivors deserve full transparency. Every document, every truth, every name,” Greene wrote on X.
“And if those names reach me, I will read them on the House floor.”
Ariana Baio18 November 2025 21:20