After votes in Congress Release of Epstein files becomes more likely - here's what happens next

The vote in the House of Representatives was already clear. Now the Senate has also cleared the way for the publication of the Epstein files - one step is still missing. The issue is causing internal party upheaval among Trump's Republicans.

Keystone-SDA

19.11.2025, 04:48

19.11.2025, 08:43

SDA

The US Congress has initiated the release of the files on millionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted as a sex offender. On Tuesday, an overwhelming majority of 427 members of the US House of Representatives voted in favor of the bill, which forces the Department of Justice to make its files on Epstein publicly accessible. There was one vote against. Shortly afterwards, the Senate also approved the bill, which will now be passed on to President Donald Trump.

The vote in the House of Representatives was followed by a small cheer. It was preceded by long speeches from both parties. Some MPs praised the rare unity, while others used the debate for sharp attacks on the respective political opponents. In some cases, it also got loud.

However, it is unclear whether the documents will actually be disclosed.

20,000 pagesThese people appear in the previously published Epstein documents

A final release of the documents and records in the possession of the US Department of Justice requires one more step. President Donald Trump must sign the law.

According to the bill, the Epstein files are to be published no later than 30 days after it comes into force.

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It's about investigation files. The initiators of the resolution want to oblige the Department of Justice to release all files and correspondence relating to Epstein as well as all information about the investigation into his death in a federal prison. However, information about Epstein's victims or ongoing federal investigations may be redacted.

According to the bill in the House of Representatives, documents from the Department of Justice, the Office of the Attorney General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are to be made public. Files relating to the investigation, prosecution and imprisonment of Epstein and his former confidante Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell is in prison following a conviction.

In addition, for example, flight logs of Epstein's private jet with passenger lists are to be published, naming people who traveled with him. Documents relating to companies, charitable organizations or government agencies with suspected links to Epstein are also to be published.

For months, Epstein's victims have been at the forefront of pushing for the publication of the documents in the abuse case - repeatedly at protests in front of the US Capitol in Washington. Only when pressure from Democrats and increasingly from the Republican base grew did more and more Republicans change their minds, paving the way for the vote in the US Congress.

On Tuesday evening (local time), the Democratic minority leader, Chuck Schumer, requested the agreement of his chamber of parliament so that the bill, which had just been passed by the House of Representatives, could be waved through without delay.

Schumer used a procedure called "unanimous consent". This allows the Senate to pass a bill through the chamber without a formal vote, provided that no senator raises an objection. It is therefore quite possible that the text will soon land on US President Donald Trump's desk. However, he still has to sign the bill into law.

Will everything really be made public? That is the big question. The legislation allows the Department of Justice to "withhold certain information, such as personal information of victims and materials that would jeopardize an ongoing federal investigation".

And US media repeatedly point out that Trump could order the release of the files without Congress if he wanted to. Some are therefore skeptical as to whether all the files will really be disclosed - or whether Trump is manipulating the publication in his own interests.

The US President is under enormous pressure in his own country - not only from the Democrats in the opposition, who have been pushing for the Epstein files to be disclosed for months. There have also been increasing calls for transparency within the Republican ranks, probably also with a view to the 2026 congressional elections.

The case has enormous political clout in the USA. Members of parliament fear being punished by voters.

Trump himself called the ghosts: During the 2024 election campaign, the Republican promised to fully disclose the Epstein files. However, because this promise has not been kept since he took office in January, the president is under increasing pressure. Democrats recently published email excerpts from Epstein's estate in which Trump's name appears. This triggered new speculation about how much he might have known about Epstein's crimes.

On Sunday, it looked like a U-turn: Trump advised his party's MPs on the Truth Social platform to vote in favor of publication. There was nothing to hide, he said. In doing so, he probably avoided a particularly big embarrassment if it had been his word against that of the Republicans. Calculations may also be at play: After all, Republican support for disclosure is significantly lower in the Senate than in the House of Representatives.

A no vote would stop the planned publication, at least for the time being - if the Senate were to change anything in the bill, it would have to go back to the House of Representatives for another vote.

Within the party, the issue is causing some major upheaval. Particularly noteworthy is the role of MP Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was long regarded as an extremely loyal supporter of Trump and one of the best-known voices of his MAGA movement ("Make America Great Again"). Recently, however, she emerged as a vehement supporter of the publication of the Epstein files - and was publicly reprimanded by Trump.

At a press conference shortly before the vote in the House of Representatives, the Republican MP defended her stance in no uncertain terms. She also criticized Trump directly: he had called her a "traitor", even though she had fought for him for years. "I never owed him anything," she explained. A "traitor" is someone who serves foreign countries. A "patriot", on the other hand, serves the USA.

Greene emphasized that it was important to overcome partisan divides in the name of the women Epstein had abused. However, the "real battle" was yet to come: the decisive factor was whether the relevant authorities would actually release all the information.