Lawmakers Predict Strong Support for Bill to Release Epstein Files, Defying Trump and GOP Leadership

A bipartisan effort to force the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation is gaining momentum in Congress, with lawmakers predicting a significant victory in the House this week despite opposition from Republican leadership and former President Donald Trump.

The legislation, which would compel the Justice Department to disclose all files and communications related to Epstein as well as information about the investigation into his death in federal custody, is expected to receive backing from potentially “100 or more” Republican lawmakers, according to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).

“I’m hoping to get a veto-proof majority on this legislation when it comes up for a vote,” Massie said during a Sunday news show appearance.

Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introduced a discharge petition in July to bypass House leadership and force a floor vote on their bill. The rarely successful procedural maneuver gained the necessary 218 signatures last week when newly seated Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) became the final lawmaker needed to reach the threshold.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had previously dismissed the discharge petition effort, even sending members home early for their August recess when the GOP’s legislative agenda was upended by demands for an Epstein vote. Democrats have accused Republican leadership of deliberately delaying Grijalva’s seating to prevent her from becoming the crucial 218th signature.

Despite his earlier opposition, Johnson now appears resigned to the bill’s passage. “We’ll just get this done and move it on. There’s nothing to hide,” he said, while claiming the House Oversight Committee has already been releasing “far more information than the discharge petition, their little gambit.”

The legislation would allow for redactions of information about Epstein’s victims or ongoing federal investigations, but would otherwise make public the government’s files on the disgraced financier who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

The push for transparency comes amid renewed scrutiny of Epstein’s high-profile connections following the emergence of a 2019 email in which Epstein allegedly wrote to a journalist that Trump “knew about the girls.” The White House has accused Democrats of selectively leaking emails to damage the Republican president.

Johnson has defended Trump, saying “he has nothing to hide from this” and dismissing the legislation as an attempt to “go after President Trump on this theory that he has something to do with it. He does not.”

Trump’s association with Epstein has been well-documented, and his name appeared in records released by his own Justice Department in February as part of an effort to satisfy public interest in the sex trafficking investigation. However, Trump has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and the mere inclusion of someone’s name in the investigation files does not imply misconduct.

The bill has created unusual political alliances and rifts. On the Republican side, three lawmakers joined Massie in signing the discharge petition: Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Lauren Boebert of Colorado – all typically strong Trump allies.

Trump publicly broke with Greene last week, threatening to endorse a challenger against her in 2026 “if the right person runs.” Greene has attributed the fallout directly to her support for releasing the Epstein files.

“I have no idea what’s in the files. I can’t even guess. But that is the question everyone is asking: why fight this so hard?” Greene said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Khanna, while expressing more modest expectations than Massie, still predicted around 40 Republicans would join Democrats in supporting the bill. “I don’t even know how involved Trump was,” Khanna said. “There are a lot of other people involved who have to be held accountable.”

Massie warned that Republicans who vote against the bill out of fear of losing Trump’s endorsement could face long-term political consequences. “The record of this vote will last longer than Donald Trump’s presidency,” he said.

Even with likely passage in the House, the bill’s fate in the Senate remains uncertain. Massie expressed hope that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) “will do the right thing,” adding that “the pressure is going to be there if we get a big vote in the House.”