US House to Vote on Releasing Jeffrey Epstein Files After Trump Reverses Opposition

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote Tuesday on whether to release Justice Department files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—moving forward on a contentious issue that has created an unexpected rift between former President Donald Trump and some of his strongest supporters.

The vote is almost certain to pass, coming just two days after Trump abruptly withdrew his long-standing opposition to the bill. If approved, the measure would require the release of all unclassified Epstein-related materials, sending the proposal to the Senate for consideration.

Trump has acknowledged that he once knew Epstein but insists they had a falling out. For years, however, he has fueled conspiracy theories surrounding the financier, who maintained a network of wealthy and influential associates. Since returning to office, the matter has become a rare point of vulnerability among the president’s base. A Reuters/Ipsos poll from October showed that only four in ten Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the issue, compared to nine in ten who support his overall performance.

Trump maintains that he has no connection to Epstein’s alleged crimes and has recently dismissed the matter as a “Democratic hoax.”

Speaker Johnson Previously Opposed the Push

House Speaker Mike Johnson had resisted the disclosure effort for months, despite pressure from Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who secured signatures from 218 House members on a discharge petition to force a vote.

Trump’s earlier opposition also strained his relationship with one of his staunchest allies, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has repeatedly criticized the Justice Department for withholding material related to Epstein.

The dynamic shifted on Sunday when Trump abruptly changed course, saying:
“House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries offered a sharp assessment:
“Donald Trump has backed down from the Epstein scandal,” Jeffries said during a Monday press conference. “He folded. This is total surrender.”

Trump’s reversal is expected to secure overwhelming Republican support. With a narrow 219–214 majority in the House, GOP votes combined with existing Democratic backing should ensure the bill’s passage.

It remains unclear whether the Republican-led Senate will take up the measure. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune declined to comment ahead of the House vote.

Johnson told reporters that both he and Trump are concerned about protecting Epstein’s victims from unwanted public exposure.
“I’m not sure the release accomplishes that, and that’s part of the problem,” the Louisiana Republican said.
Supporters of the bill argue that these concerns are unfounded.

Concerns About the Breadth of Disclosure

As the House prepared for the vote, lawmakers on both sides questioned how complete the disclosure would be. Trump has directed the Justice Department to investigate Epstein’s connections to prominent Democrats, and the bill’s language allows the DOJ to withhold information tied to ongoing investigations.

Representative Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat whose signature helped force the vote, said the inquiry could end up limiting what the public sees.
“Once an investigation is opened, it kind of freezes things,” she told Reuters.
“I’ve heard concerns from both sides about how full the release will truly be.”

Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to a felony prostitution charge and served 13 months in jail. In 2019, the U.S. Justice Department charged him with sex trafficking of minors. He pleaded not guilty and died later that year in jail, in what was ruled a suicide.

Emails released last week by a House committee showed that Epstein believed Trump “knew about the girls,” though the meaning of that phrase remains unclear. The White House said the emails provide no evidence of wrongdoing by Trump, and Speaker Johnson echoed that view Monday.
“He’s never had anything to hide,” Johnson said.