type: timeline_event
On November 18, 2025, the House of Representatives voted 427-1 to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, delivering a stunning bipartisan rebuke to President Trump's months-long opposition to transparency. The only dissenting vote came from Representative Clay Higgins (R-LA), a Trump supporter who argued the bill could expose innocent people mentioned in the investigation. The Senate unanimously approved the measure the same day by unanimous consent, sending it to Trump's desk. Trump indicated through a senior White House official that he would sign the bill "whenever it gets to the White House."
The Epstein Files Transparency Act compels Attorney General Pam Bondi to publicly release all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in the Department of Justice's possession related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The bill requires release within 30 days of Trump signing it into law, with exceptions only for victims' identifying information and materials depicting child abuse. The legislation forces transparency on one of the most politically sensitive investigations in American history, involving powerful figures across politics, business, and entertainment.
The overwhelming vote represents a dramatic reversal for Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, both of whom had actively resisted the measure for months. Trump had initially dismissed calls for transparency as a "hoax" and reportedly summoned Representative Lauren Boebert to the White House Situation Room to dissuade her from supporting the discharge petition. Johnson had characterized the bill as a "political exercise" with "serious deficiencies," sent the House home early in late July to avoid the vote, and stalled proceedings during a 50-day government shutdown. However, after the discharge petition reached 218 signatures on November 12, forcing the measure to the floor, Trump reversed course and announced Republicans "should approve the bill" because "we have nothing to hide." Johnson similarly capitulated, stating he would vote to "show there's maximum transparency," though he maintained his criticism of the bill as "seriously deficient."
Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA), who led the bipartisan effort, celebrated the victory. Massie remarked that supporters "fought the president, the attorney general, the FBI director, the speaker of the House and the vice president to get this win." Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose feud with Trump over the Epstein files had escalated in recent days, declared the vote was "about the powerless taking power away from the very powerful." The remarkable unity across party lines, with 427 House members defying the president and only one member voting no, demonstrates the political impossibility of opposing transparency on the Epstein investigation regardless of what powerful figures might be implicated in the files.