OAN Staff Sophia Flores
12:37 PM – Tuesday, November 18, 2025
In a rare display of bipartisan unity, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to advance a bill aimed at releasing the “Jeffrey Epstein files.”
On Tuesday, in a 427-1 vote, the House officially advanced the bill to the Senate.
The only “no” vote came from Representative Clay Higgins (R-La.). He took to X to explain his reasoning, stating that he is not against releasing the files on the disgraced child sex trafficker per se — he is against the way the bill is written.
“I have been a principled “NO” on this bill from the beginning. What was wrong with the bill three months ago is still wrong today. It abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure in America. As written, this bill reveals and injures thousands of innocent people – witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc. If enacted in its current form, this type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt. Not by my vote. The Oversight Committee is conducting a thorough investigation that has already released well over 60,000 pages of documents from the Epstein case. That effort will continue in a manner that provides all due protections for innocent Americans. If the Senate amends the bill to properly address privacy of victims and other Americans, who are named but not criminally implicated, then I will vote for that bill when it comes back to the House,” he posted on X.
Prior to the vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also called on the Senate to address “serious deficiencies” in the bill — later revealing that he would be voting “yes” on it.
“I’m going to vote to move this forward. I think it could be close to a unanimous vote, because everybody here, all the Republicans, want to go on record to show there’s a maximum of transparency. But they also want to note that we’re demanding that this stuff get corrected before it ever moves through the process and is completed,” Johnson told reporters at a news conference.
Speaker Johnson’s primary concern with the bill is that its current language lacks sufficient safeguards for victims. As presently drafted, it could possibly compel the release of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), information that would identify whistleblowers, or other details revealing investigative sources and methods.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has stated that he will request unanimous consent to vote on the bill later in the day.
“Once the House passes the bill to release the Epstein files today, I will move for the Senate to immediately take it up and pass it — period,” Schumer said in a statement.
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