The House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a sweeping effort to force the release of unclassified Justice Department records related to Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and any government officials tied to their criminal network.
The bill passed 427–1 on Tuesday, with GOP Rep. Clay Higgins casting the lone dissenting vote. The legislation will now head to the Senate, where it's expected to voted on Tuesday evening, according to Kaitlan Collins.
The push for exposure follows months of gridlock in the House, with Speaker Mike Johnson repeatedly delaying a vote, including sending lawmakers home early for recess and during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
That stalemate broke when Democrat Adelita Grijalva became the key 218th signer on a discharge petition, compelling Johnson to bring the bill to the floor. Johnson criticized the vote as a "political exercise" and argued the bill had "serious deficiencies," but ultimately supported it. Ahead of the vote, he dismissed Democratic pressure by asserting that Donald Trump "has nothing to hide."
Trump, who had initially opposed releasing the files and reportedly urged GOP members to block the petition, abruptly reversed course over the weekend, telling Republicans to vote yes "because we have nothing to hide." He later confirmed he would sign the bill if it reaches his desk.
Despite this newfound push for transparency, concerns are already surfacing about what will eventually be made public.
In an interview with NewsNation's Chris Cuomo, Mark Epstein, Jeffrey Epstein's brother, claimed the documents are currently being altered before release. He alleged that a facility in Winchester, Virginia is "scrubbing" the files to remove politically damaging names.
"They're sanitizing these files," Mark Epstein said. "They're scrubbing the files to take Republican names out of it. That's what I was told by a pretty good source."
Cuomo attempted to question him about a separate leaked 2018 email that referenced "Bubba," but Mark refused to elaborate, insisting the public had misinterpreted the message and wrongly dragged Bill Clinton into the conversation. He also repeated his longstanding belief that Jeffrey Epstein was murdered and claimed his brother had compromising information on powerful political figures, including Donald Trump.
"Jeffrey told me in 2016 that if he said what he knew about the candidates, they'd have to cancel the election," he said. "He definitely had dirt on Trump."
