Epstein vote looms as Democrats force House speaker’s hand

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that his chamber will vote next week on a bill to compel the Justice Department to release its files on accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein—a move that follows weeks of internal Republican pressure and a procedural ambush by Democrats. 

“We’re going to put that on the floor for a full vote next week, as soon as we get back,” Johnson told reporters, adding that the House Oversight Committee “has been working around the clock” on its own review of Epstein’s connections.

The announcement came just hours after Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva was sworn into Congress, giving Democrats the 218th signature needed on a discharge petition that forces a floor vote on the measure. The bipartisan bill, from Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, mandates the public release of unsealed documents from the government’s Epstein investigation. 

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Under House rules, Johnson wasn’t required to act until early December. His decision to move faster underscores frustration within the GOP, which has spent months trying to defuse political pressure over Epstein—and President Donald Trump’s ties to him.

The upcoming vote poses an awkward test for Republicans. Trump has dismissed renewed scrutiny of Epstein as a “hoax,” but many in the conference are wary of being accused of protecting pedophiles if they oppose disclosure.

“Just get it to the daggum floor and let the people decide,” said Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican, who broke ranks on Wednesday by attempting to force an expedited vote. “I’m tired of messing around. The Democrats have had the Epstein files for four years, and now we’ve got it for nine months, and it’s going to be dragged into a bunch of nonsense. Let’s just take it to the floor. Let’s vote on it. Let’s get on with it.”

Khanna said on Thursday that he, Massie, and Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia will hold a news conference next week with Epstein survivors to highlight bipartisan support for the release.

Grijalva’s swearing-in and signature on the discharge petition caps weeks of Johnson’s politically motivated stalling on the issue, which is suspected of involving damaging information on Trump. Her vote compelled the petition and bypassed GOP leadership’s blockade.

“It’s completely moot now,” Johnson said. “We might as well just do it. I mean, they have 218 signatures, that’s fine, we’ll do it.”

Even if the bill clears the House, it’s unlikely to pass the Senate, and Trump is almost certain to veto it. But putting every House Republican on the record about releasing the Epstein files could damage them in next year’s midterm elections. If they support the bill, they might face Trump’s ire, but if they oppose the bill, they might face blowback from their base, which has been fed years of Epstein-related conspiracies.

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Also on Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee released an additional 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate. And earlier this year, reports circulated about a creepy birthday card to Epstein that appears to have been signed by Trump. 

“Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret,” reads the card, which The Wall Street Journal first reported about in September. 

According to The Washington Post, newly released emails show Epstein wrote to himself in 2019 that Trump “knew of it”—seemingly referring to sexual abuse of underage girls—but “never got a massage.” In those same emails, Epstein also mentioned Trump by name numerous times.

Asked about the new disclosures, Johnson dismissed them.

“I think it’s a massive distraction by the Democrats while we’re trying to get the government reopened and cover for their mistakes,” he said.

House Republicans are eager to put the Epstein controversy behind them as they scramble to make up for weeks lost during the government shutdown, when Johnson kept the chamber out of session.

Two more House Republicans, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Eli Crane of Arizona, have since stated that they’ll support the bill, according to CNN. They join Burchett and Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska in breaking with Trump. GOP leaders now expect possibly around 100 defections when the measure hits the floor, according to Politico. 

The signatures are there, the vote’s coming, and the political firestorm around Epstein isn’t dying down anytime soon.

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