The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed the legislation called the Epstein Files Transparency Act and it is now headed to Donald Trump’s desk in an historic bipartisan move. Hours earlier, the House passed the bill by a lopsided vote of 427-1, underscoring widespread bipartisan agreement on an effort to force the Justice Department to make public certain previously hidden records about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.
The bill passed the upper chamber via unanimous consent, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, which will result in it being signed into law relatively quickly. “The people of America have been waiting long enough. Epstein’s victims have already had what they deserved denied to them for so long,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. The lone vote of opposition in the House was cast by Rep. Clay Higgins, a Republican, who said that untethered release could do damage to people not implicated in the files.
The bill requires the Justice Department to make public within 30 days all unclassified investigative materials, communications and records in its possession with respect to Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, such as flight logs, travel records and any evidence of the destruction, deletion or concealment of them. The redactions are restricted solely to safeguarding victim privacy or ongoing investigations, not political inconvenience or reputational damage.
Sign up here to receive Morning Mountain Valley and other Maine Voices newsletters.In early January, President Trump dismissed the inquiry as a “Democrat hoax” and had refused to succumb to pressure for its release. Facing growing pressure and a near-consensus House vote, he changed his mind, saying he would sign the legislation, not veto it.
It’s a victory for survivors of Epstein’s trafficking network, but many warn that the real test will come in the days ahead. “The vote matters, but the file release matters more,” said one advocate for victims. Critics seized on continuing doubts: will the documents be truly comprehensive, will standards for redactions be applied consistently and whether the Justice Department would comply completely.
As Congress suggests this chapter may soon be coming to a close, the wider implications are grim. The move demonstrates how transparency fights can cut across traditional partisan fault lines in the face of mounting pressure from the public and survivors. It also places the administration and Justice Department under new scrutiny for how they conduct politically sensitive investigations.
In brief: Washington has found unusual urgency and consensus to obtain the release of some of the most closely guarded files in memory. Now, the hard part comes — ensuring that the promise of transparency lives up to reality.
