US lawmakers set for explosive vote on Epstein files

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US lawmakers are expected to advance a bill on Tuesday that would require the release of official records on billionaire sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, defying Donald Trump’s efforts to keep a lid on one of the most notorious case files in modern America.

After weeks of resistance, behind-the-scenes pressure and lobbying against making the material public, the president threw in the towel on Sunday when it became clear that more than 100 Republicans in Congress were ready to deny him.

The House of Representatives now looks all but certain to advance the Epstein Files Transparency Act, forcing the release of unclassified documents detailing the notorious financier’s actions and the investigation into his 2019 death in custody.

Lawmakers say the public deserves answers in the case of more than 1,000 alleged victims, while pro-Trump activists insist the files will expose Democrats and other powerful figures who have long escaped scrutiny.

Trump could still try to withhold the files, but it would be awkward to kill the bill in the Senate or defend a veto after the House vote, with midterm elections looming and the public favoring greater transparency.

The story has exposed a rare fissure in support for the Republican leader, who was forced to release the files but backed them after taking office, accusing Democrats of pushing a “fraud” and attacking politicians who had called for their release.

Walking back his opposition in a Truth Social post late Sunday, Trump said House Republicans should vote to release the files “because we have nothing to hide.”

“I’m all for it,” Trump added in the Oval Office on Monday.

But his about-face came off as a face-saving retreat, and a rare occasion when a coup by Trump’s own rank-and-file forced his hand.

Despite the party fighting hard to hold the House leadership, all Democrats and four Republicans signed a “discharge petition,” forcing a vote.

Last minute appeals

Ruled suicidal at the time of his death, Epstein was facing a federal trial for an alleged sex-trafficking operation that is said to have exploited underage girls and young women, including a 2008 conviction for procuring a minor for prostitution.

Trump’s attorney general and FBI director said in July that they had completed a “thorough review” of the case file that found no basis for disclosing any Epstein material.

Later that month, Speaker Mike Johnson sent the early summer home amid a backlash over Epstein, keeping him out of session for nearly two months since mid-September.

He delayed for weeks the swearing in of a newly elected Democratic lawmaker who would ultimately be the decisive 218th signer of the 218th repeal, though he denies that any of the moves were encouraged by Epstein.

The White House stepped up its efforts to avoid a vote last week, as the president and his allies made a last-minute appeal for reconsideration by the two Republican signatories of the discharge petition.

When Trump pulled the endorsement of marquee loyalist Marjorie Taylor Green in a surprise break, he broke into a frenzy that he said “is everyone out on the Epstein files.”

“I don’t know what’s in the files — I can’t even guess — but that’s the question everyone is asking, why fight this so hard?” He told CNN.

Trump, who has denied wrongdoing and said he severed ties with Epstein years before the wealthy financier’s arrest, has sought to draw attention to Epstein’s contacts with Democrats, including Bill Clinton.

But fresh revelations — like Epstein’s new level of emails suggesting Trump “knew about girls” — have renewed scrutiny of the pair’s long association.

The revelations also included an exchange of messages between Epstein and Clinton’s former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who told US media in a statement late Monday that he was “stepping back” from his public role as a result.

If the bill clears the House, Democrats plan an aggressive campaign to pressure Republicans to bring it to the Senate floor.

There would need 60 votes to pass — which means at least 13 Republicans pass. Even then, Trump could veto the measure, potentially forcing a two-thirds override in both chambers.