The pressure came from an unusual alliance: Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna, backed by Republicans such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace and nearly every Democrat. Their discharge petition bypassed House leaders who had tried to delay a vote. [1][4]
Two days before the vote, Trump, who had called the issue a “hoax,” told Republicans to vote yes. The bill passed 427–1 on 18 November 2025, cleared the Senate by unanimous consent and was signed on 19 November. It required the department to release all unclassified Epstein records within 30 days, with redactions only for victims’ privacy, child abuse material, active investigations and a few other grounds, and barred withholding for “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.” [1][2][3]
Approved reader comments and ratings appear here when JavaScript is on.