RELATED | In their own words: Trump, Patel, Bongino and Bondi on the Epstein scandal<\/a><\/p>\nThe group of women also met with Johnson and rallied outside the Capitol in September, but have had to wait months for the vote.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because Johnson kept the House closed for legislative business for nearly two months and also refused to swear-in Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona during the government shutdown. After winning a special election on Sept. 23, Grijalva had pledged to provide the crucial 218th vote to the petition for the Epstein files bill. But only after she was sworn into office last week could she sign her name to the discharge petition to give it majority support in the 435-member House.<\/p>\n
It quickly became apparent the bill would pass, and both Johnson and Trump began to fold. Trump on Sunday said Republicans should vote for the bill.<\/p>\n
Yet Greene told reporters that Trump\u2019s decision to fight the bill had betrayed his Make America Great Again political movement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching this turn into a fight has ripped MAGA apart,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
How Johnson is handling the bill <\/p>\n
Rather than waiting until next week for the discharge position to officially take effect, Johnson is moving to hold the vote under a procedure that requires a two-thirds majority.<\/p>\n
But Johnson also spent a morning news conference listing off problems that he sees with the legislation. He argued that the bill could have unintended consequences by disclosing parts of federal investigations that are usually kept private, including information on victims.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a raw and obvious political exercise,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
Still, he planned to vote for the bill. \u201cNone of us want to go on record and in any way be accused of not being for maximum transparency,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, House Democrats celebrated the vote as a rare win for the minority.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a complete and total surrender, because as Democrats we made clear from the very beginning, the survivors and the American people deserve full and complete transparency as it relates to the lives that were ruined by Jeffrey Epstein,\u201d said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.<\/p>\n
What will the Senate do? <\/p>\n
It\u2019s not clear how the Senate will handle the bill.<\/p>\n
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has previously been circumspect when asked about the legislation and instead said he trusted the Justice Department to release information on the Epstein investigation.<\/p>\n
But what the Justice Department has released so far under Trump was mostly already public. The bill would go further, forcing the release within 30 days of all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in federal prison. Information about Epstein\u2019s victims or continuing federal investigations would be allowed to be redacted, but not information due to \u201cembarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson also said he wants to see the Senate amend the bill to protect the information of \u201cvictims and whistleblowers.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the bipartisan pair who sponsored the bill, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., warned senators against doing anything that would \u201cmuck it up\u201d and said they would face the same public uproar that forced both Trump and Johnson to back down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve needlessly dragged this out for four months,\u201d Massie said, adding that those raising problems with the bill \u201care afraid that people will be embarrassed. Well, that\u2019s the whole point here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Joey Cappelletti and Matt Brown contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>A World Without Exploitation projection is seen on the wall of the National Gallery of Art calling on Congress to vote yes on the Epstein files transparency act in Washington, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. | Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press <\/p>\n