Members of Congress from both parties are one step closer to compelling the Trump administration to release all remaining federal files tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
The effort gained momentum Tuesday after Democrat Adelita Grijalva won a special House election in southern Arizona. Her arrival in Washington is expected to bring the number of lawmakers backing a procedural maneuver known as a discharge petition to 218, the minimum needed to force a floor vote, even over the objections of House leaders.
The petition currently has 217 signatures, with support from every Democrat and four Republicans. Grijalva has pledged to add her name once sworn in, setting up the possibility of a vote in late October.
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The legislation, spearheaded by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), would require the Justice Department to post every record it holds relating to Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Both supporters and critics acknowledge that successful discharge petitions are rare, making this effort notable.
Massie has been outspoken about his reasons for pushing the measure. “I do believe that Trump is not implicated,” he said this week. “[But] I believe that Trump is trying to protect rich and powerful people who are his friends, and that is why this material is not getting released.”
The move puts Massie at odds with his party’s leadership. Speaker Mike Johnson and other GOP leaders oppose the bill, siding with Trump, who once promised to release Epstein files but recently dismissed the matter as a “hoax.” Trump has urged supporters to abandon the campaign, declaring on Truth Social, “Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats’ work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!”
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Despite opposition, the discharge petition has unusual bipartisan traction. Supporters argue that relying on ongoing investigations overseen by Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky gives too much control to the Justice Department and the White House. Comer’s committee has already released thousands of subpoenaed documents and conducted interviews with figures including Bill Barr and Alexander Acosta.
Massie countered that the selective release of documents breeds mistrust. “The DOJ’s curating all of that, and they’re releasing what they want to release,” he said. “People are going to go through [the documents] and say, ‘Hey, wait. There’s nothing new here. This is stuff we already knew.’ And then that will only incite people to be more upset that there’s no transparency.”
While the timing of a final vote remains uncertain, the threshold of 218 signatures is expected to put new pressure on House leaders to act.