Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) secured enough signatures on Wednesday for a discharge petition to force a House floor vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act II. A discharge petition is a procedural tool that allows a majority of House members to circumvent chamber leadership to bring a bill to a vote. The petition reached the required 218-signature threshold after all House Democrats and four Republicans signed the document.
The move follows the passage of the original Epstein Transparency Act, which was signed into law nearly a year ago. That legislation also reached the floor through a similar procedural maneuver after lawmakers sought the release of federal records related to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who died in a federal jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The proposed Epstein Files Transparency Act II provides legal standing for members of Congress, state attorneys general, and Epstein survivors to sue the Department of Justice (DOJ). The bill would allow these parties to seek judicial intervention if they believe the DOJ has failed to comply with the disclosure requirements established by the previous law. Massie and three other Republicans—Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Nancy Mace (SC), and Ralph Norman (SC)—joined the Democratic caucus to support the measure.
For the groups named in the bill, the scale of the impact involves the management of 3 million documents. Survivors of Epstein's crimes would gain the specific legal right to challenge the federal government in court to see these records. The DOJ would be required to defend its redaction choices or release the materials, which could change what the public knows about the investigation into Epstein’s activities and associates.
The next step in the process involves the formal scheduling of the floor vote now that the 218-signature threshold has been met. While the petition forces the bill out of committee, the legislation must still pass the full House of Representatives and the Senate before it can be sent to the president. The source did not report a specific date for the upcoming House vote or the status of a companion bill in the Senate.