The United States Congress voted on Tuesday to compel the Justice Department to hand over all unclassified records related to Jeffrey Epstein, a move that won overwhelming bipartisan support after President Donald Trump abruptly ended his months long resistance to the measure.
The House approved the plan by a margin of 427 to 1, sending it to the Senate, which cleared it within hours. A senior White House official said Trump intends to sign it once it reaches his desk. The decision marks the clearest sign yet that lawmakers from both parties want the full archive made public, despite the political pressure surrounding the issue.
The push comes at a time when Trump has faced mounting scrutiny over how his administration has handled questions about Epstein and his relationships with powerful figures. The late financier was awaiting trial on federal charges of trafficking minors when he died in a Manhattan jail in 2019, a death ruled a suicide.
Survivors of Epstein’s abuse gathered outside the Capitol ahead of the vote, urging lawmakers to force transparency from the Justice Department. Many held photos of themselves as teenagers, the age they said they first encountered Epstein.
When the vote concluded, several survivors stood in the public gallery applauding and hugging one another, visibly emotional after years of stalled investigations and unanswered questions.
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Despite agreeing to sign the bill, Trump grew irritated when asked about the matter during an Oval Office event with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He lashed out at a reporter, calling the journalist a terrible person and criticizing the network they worked for.
Trump again insisted he had no role in Epstein’s actions, saying, I threw him out of my club many years ago because I thought he was a sick pervert.
The rapid movement of the legislation caught the White House by surprise, according to two people familiar with internal discussions. The fallout has added to Trump’s political challenges at a time when national polling shows dissatisfaction with his handling of the Epstein controversy.
A Reuters Ipsos survey completed Monday showed Trump’s approval on the issue at its lowest point this year. Only about one in five voters approved of how he has managed the matter. Among Republicans, fewer than half expressed confidence in his approach.
Trump and Epstein socialized in the early two thousands before what Trump has described as a personal break. The old connection has become a rare vulnerability for the president among his own base, fueling suspicions that the administration has withheld information.
At a news conference outside the Capitol, survivor Jena Lisa Jones spoke directly to Trump, saying, Please stop making this political. It is not about you, President Trump. I voted for you, but your behavior on this issue has been a national embarrassment.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to a state charge in Florida connected to prostitution involving a minor. He served about thirteen months in a local jail under a work release arrangement that later drew heavy criticism. Federal prosecutors charged him again in 2019 with trafficking minors. He pleaded not guilty and died in custody a month later.
