Both chambers of Congress overwhelmingly passed legislation Tuesday compelling the Department of Justice to publicly release thousands of pages of investigative files related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The bill, which cleared the House and Senate with near-unanimous support, is expected to reach the president’s desk as early as today.
A senior administration official confirmed late Tuesday that Trump intends to sign the measure despite weeks of behind-the-scenes efforts by the White House to delay, weaken, or derail it entirely.
The legislation marks a significant defeat for an administration that had sought to keep the Epstein matter from dominating headlines during Trump’s second term.
Lawmakers from both parties, along with victims’ advocates, argued that the public has a right to see the full scope of federal investigations into Epstein’s sex-trafficking network and the circumstances surrounding his 2019 death in federal custody, officially ruled a suicide.
White House Initially Fought the Bill
Sources familiar with internal discussions say the West Wing spent much of the past month attempting to prevent the vote from reaching the floor.
Administration officials reportedly pressed Senate Republican leaders to attach amendments that would have narrowed the scope of documents released or delayed implementation.
Those efforts collapsed when the Senate followed the House in approving the original, unamended text.
Only after it became clear the strategy had failed did President Trump publicly endorse the bill late Sunday, posting on social media that he supported “total transparency” on Epstein.
Insiders described the reversal as a shift from obstruction to damage-limitation.
White House Press Secretary Abigail Jackson defended the president’s handling of the issue, insisting Trump had never opposed disclosure in principle.
“The president’s concern has always been that Democrats and the media would weaponize this issue to distract from the administration’s extraordinary record—historic tax reform, the complete shutdown of illegal border crossings, and countless other achievements for working Americans,” Jackson said.
Public Suspicion Remains High
Recent polling shows deep public skepticism about the official narrative surrounding Epstein.
A survey completed Monday found that 60% of Americans believe the government is still concealing information about Epstein’s death, while 70% suspect authorities are hiding the identities of powerful individuals implicated in his crimes.
Notably, a majority of Republican voters share those doubts.
Epstein’s past social ties to Trump, which included parties and flights on the financier’s private plane in the 1990s and early 2000s, have fueled persistent speculation among some of the president’s own supporters.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and says he cut off contact with Epstein years before the 2019 arrest.
No documents released to date have contained definitive evidence of presidential misconduct, though Democratic lawmakers last week highlighted a cryptic 2019 email from Epstein claiming Trump “knew about the girls.” The full context and authenticity of that message remain under review.
Rare Congressional Defiance
The episode underscores the boundaries of presidential influence even within a Republican-controlled Congress.
Lawmakers who normally align closely with the White House, including several members of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, joined Democrats in pushing the bill forward.
The vote has also strained relations between the president and some of his most vocal congressional defenders.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), long one of Trump’s fiercest allies on Capitol Hill, publicly criticized the administration’s initial resistance to the release.
With the bill now headed to the Oval Office for signature, attention will quickly shift to the contents of the files themselves.
Victims and transparency advocates say the documents could finally shed light on the full extent of Epstein’s network and whether powerful figures received preferential treatment from federal authorities.
The Justice Department has not yet announced a specific timeline for the public release following enactment.
