Epstein Files Transparency Act Passes House 427-1 After Discharge Petition

The House of Representatives passes the Epstein Files Transparency Act by a vote of 427-1, forcing the Department of Justice to release all unclassified Jeffrey Epstein files within 30 days. Only Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) votes against.

The bill reached the floor through a rare successful discharge petition - only the seventh in 40 years at that point. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) filed the petition on September 2, 2025, despite Trump administration officials calling signing it “a very hostile act.”

Four Republicans defied their leadership and the administration to sign the petition:

• Thomas Massie (R-KY) - Bill co-author
• Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) - Later broke permanently with Trump
• Lauren Boebert (R-CO) - Trump later vetoed her water bill in retaliation
• Nancy Mace (R-SC) - Her top adviser quit over “disloyalty to Trump”

The 218th signature came from Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), newly elected.

Massie declared victory: “We fought the president, the attorney general, the FBI director, the speaker of the House and the vice president to get this win.”

The Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent the next day, and Trump signed it into law on November 19, 2025 - though his administration would subsequently miss the legal deadline for full release and heavily redact released documents.

This vote represented the first of three successful discharge petitions in a three-month span, signaling historic breakdown in GOP party discipline under Speaker Johnson and President Trump.