The lower chamber of Congress voted 427-1 on the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Republican Rep. Clay Higgins cast the lone “No” vote.
“I have been a principled “NO” on this bill from the beginning. What was wrong with the bill three months ago is still wrong today. It abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure in America,” Higgins said through US social media company X.
“As written, this bill reveals and injures thousands of innocent people – witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc. If enacted in its current form, this type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt. Not by my vote,” he added.
The vote was triggered by a discharge petition to compel a vote in the House on the Epstein files’ release. The petition reached the required 218 signatures after newly sworn-in Rep. Adelita Grijalva signed it last week.
Release of Epstein Files Senate Vote
The US Senate on Tuesday cleared, by unanimous consent, a House-approved measure directing the Justice Department to disclose all unclassified records tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer secured unanimous consent to clear the Epstein Files Transparency Act as soon as it arrived from the House, just hours after the lower chamber approved it in a 427–1 vote.
“The Senate has now passed the Epstein bill as soon as it comes over from the House,” Schumer told the Senate floor.
The bill now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.
Before the approval, Trump dismissed concerns over the timing of Senate action on the House-passed bill, saying he is unconcerned about when the upper chamber chooses to move forward as long as Republicans remain focused on what he described as a string of recent policy wins.
“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,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
It is not immediately clear when Trump will sign the bill.
Epstein was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. He had previously pleaded guilty and was convicted in 2008 of procuring a minor for prostitution.
His survivors have demanded accountability and legal support to face their abusers and achieve justice.
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