WASHINGTON — A sudden bid by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to force the release of government records tied to Jeffrey Epstein collapsed on Wednesday, after Republicans swiftly moved to block the effort in a rare floor clash.
By a narrow 51-to-49 vote, the Senate tabled Schumer’s amendment, which he had quietly slipped into the annual defense authorization bill. The proposal would have compelled Attorney General Pam Bondi to hand over any Justice Department files connected to Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender whose network of associates continues to stir public speculation.
Two Republicans — Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and Rand Paul of Kentucky — broke ranks and sided with Democrats, but it was not enough to keep the measure alive.
Schumer wasted little time framing the outcome as a stark choice. “Republicans are saying to the American people: You should not see the Epstein files,” he told reporters shortly after the vote, casting transparency as the core issue.
Republican leaders bristled at the charge. Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the party’s floor leader, dismissed the amendment as a “political stunt,” warning it could derail delicate negotiations on the defense bill — one of the few must-pass measures Congress has managed to advance in recent years with bipartisan support. By moving quickly to table the amendment, Republicans avoided what could have been a days-long procedural standoff.
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Still, Democrats have signaled they are unlikely to let the issue fade. Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona has twice sought unanimous consent on the Senate floor for resolutions tied to Epstein, each time encountering Republican objections. Separately, Democrats on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee invoked an obscure statute to demand the Justice Department’s files, but the department blew past its September 2 deadline.
On the House side, momentum has been steadier. A bipartisan coalition led by Representatives Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, and Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, is closing in on the signatures needed to circumvent Speaker Mike Johnson and force a vote on similar legislation. Should the measure clear the House, Schumer would be pressed to bring it before the Senate, though Thune has remained noncommittal.
The impasse highlights the enduring political volatility of the Epstein case. For Democrats, pressing for disclosure is a bid to align themselves with public demands for accountability. For Republicans, blocking it serves to keep the politically radioactive issue away from the Senate’s agenda.
For now, the files remain sealed, and Epstein’s legacy — tangled in wealth, exploitation, and whispered names — continues to haunt Washington without resolution.
