Sky Roberts (left), brother of Virginia Giuffre, who was molested by Jeffrey Epstein, and his wife Amanda Roberts hold a photo of Giuffre during a press conference on the Epstein File Transparency Act outside the U.S. Capitol on November 18, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday forcing the release of public records investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a friend of the wealthy and powerful who died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting federal trial on sex trafficking charges.
Lawmakers in the lower house voted 427-1 to force the Justice Department to release materials related to the government’s investigation into a financier who harmed more than 1,000 victims, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., was the lone “no” vote.
Survivors and their supporters watched the vote from seats in the chamber’s gallery. Among them was Sky Roberts, brother of the delayed Virginia Giuffre, who sued Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell and Andrew Windsor of the British royal family, who was recently stripped of his title as a prince. Giuffre died by suicide in April.
Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson opposed the House’s efforts to release the files by this week.
Johnson said Tuesday morning that he would vote in favor of the resolution, which was forced to a vote after Reps. Thomas Massie, D-Calif., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., collected enough signatures on a discharge petition to overturn the leadership.
The Louisiana Republican told reporters at his regular House leadership news conference that “the enforcement mechanism used here prevents the very thoughtful, professional and careful way in which Congress should have done this.”
“But now that the vote has been forced, none of us want to go into hiding and in any way be accused of not being as transparent as possible” – Johnson he said.
The vote comes less than a week after lawmakers on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted released approximately 20,000 pages of emails from Epstein’s estate in which Trump’s name appeared repeatedly.
In one email from Epstein to convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, the financier and sex offender claimed that Trump “knew about the girls.”
Trump denies any connection to Epstein’s alleged crimes and has stated that he did he fired Epstein his private club Mar-a-Lago in Florida because he alleged that the financier had extorted juvenile female employees from the club. Epstein was convicted in Florida for soliciting sex from a minor in 2008.
During a Tuesday press conference in the Oval Office with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump told reporters: “Regarding the Epstein files, I have nothing to do with Jeffery Epstein. I kicked him out of the club years ago because I thought he was a sick pervert.”
Trump added, as he has repeatedly said, that the files constitute a “democratic hoax.”
Stories of abuse
Women who told stories of being molested by Epstein as teenagers gathered outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday morning along with Massie, Khanna and Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, whom Trump attacked online this weekend, calling her a “traitor.”
Haley Robson, who prominently shared her account of Epstein’s sexual abuse, said that as a Republican herself, Massie and Greene’s support is “incredible, and we are so grateful.”
“And to the president of the United States of America, who is not here today, I want to send you a clear message: While I understand that your position has changed on the Epstein files and I am grateful that you have committed to signing this bill, I cannot help but be skeptical about the agenda,” Robson said.
In a Sunday evening post on his social media platform, Trump he told Republicans vote for two parties legislation Tuesday, which lawmakers called the Epstein File Transparency Act.
Greene, who also spoke at the news conference, said the administration’s refusal to release the so-called Epstein files “tore MAGA apart.”
“The only thing that will speak to the powerful, brave women behind me is that action will be taken to release these files, and the American people will not tolerate any other b—-t,” Greene said.
GOP Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Lauren Boebert of Colorado are the latest Republicans to join Massie, Greene and all Democrats to sign the petition.
Grijalva’s signature
During a second press conference outside the Capitol on Tuesday morning, up-to-date Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona spoke alongside sexual abuse prevention advocates.
“The impetus didn’t come from politicians. It came from survivors and the public who demanded answers. That’s why the discharge petition collected 218 signatures, even though Speaker Johnson did everything in his power to prevent it, including announcing his firing at the beginning of the summer and delaying his oath of office for seven weeks,” Grijalva said.
On Wednesday, Grijalva became the 218th signature on the petition right after her swearing-in ceremony.
Johnson refused to administer the oath of office to Grijalva, who won the seat on Sept. 23 during the government shutdown, despite precedent for other representatives to take the oath of office outside the House.
U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, R-Ariz., also spoke at the news conference, warning that Senate leaders should “no longer delay this matter.”
“They need to schedule a vote on this so the bill can pass,” Kelly said.
Trump he said NBC News will sign the bill into law on Monday.
About a dozen public protesters stood in front of a police barricade surrounding the press conference, holding signs demanding the release of Epstein’s files.
Robin Galbraith, 61, of Maryland held a sign protesting Johnson’s refusal to allow an early vote on the release of the records.
“Survivors deserve justice. And you know, all women and girls deserve justice,” Galbraith told States Newsroom. “Just like with the richest people in the world trafficking girls, what I mean is that as someone who has daughters and sons, we all want to make sure that children are no longer victims like that.”
FBI memo
In July, the FBI issued a memo stating that the department would not publicly release any further information about the Epstein case.
The sudden turnaround, which followed a campaign by Trump and his supporters to release the records, caused confusion within the president’s circle and put the spotlight on Trump’s well-documented friendship with Epstein.
Trump denies any wrongdoing.
The president sued The Wall Street Journal for reporting on the 50th anniversary birthday card Trump allegedly gave to Epstein. The card included a cryptic message and a doodle of a naked woman with Trump’s signature imitating pubic hair. Trump denies creating and signing the birthday doodle.
The diary too reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi informed the president in May that his name was in the Epstein case file. The context in which his name appeared is unclear.
AND number In the Miami Herald in 2018, journalist Julie K. Brown drew extensive attention to Epstein’s crimes and Trump’s 2017 appointment of former Miami federal prosecutor Alex Acosta, who in 2008 reached an agreement ending the federal investigation into Epstein, as labor secretary.
Jennifer Shutt contributed to this report.
