When is the Epstein files vote

US President Donald Trump called on Republicans in Congress to vote to release more files on Jeffrey Epstein; this was a sudden reversal in his position after previously opposing efforts to make the documents public.

Trump faced a potential rebellion this week after a growing number of Republicans signaled they would vote in favor of releasing the files despite his opposition.

Although the measure is likely to pass the House of Representatives, it is not certain to pass the Republican-controlled Senate.

Even if the bill passes the Senate, it remains unclear when the files might be released and whether they will satisfy passionate campaigners.

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on a measure that would force the justice department to make all files on Epstein publicly available “in a searchable and downloadable format” within 30 days.

Procedural votes and debates are expected to begin at 10:00am (15:00GMT) and continue for hours.

Many Epstein victims are also expected to spend the day on Capitol Hill, advocating for passage of the bill and holding press conferences with reporters.

Those disclosed could, in theory, include files on people including Epstein’s jailed accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as government officials named in the case. It may also include internal justice department documents.

The vote will come just two days after Trump wrote on Truth Social to encourage Republicans to vote for the measure. “We have nothing to hide,” he argued in the post.

The measure is likely to pass. Even before Trump’s post, some House Republicans had made clear they were willing to break ranks with the President and House Speaker Mike Johnson to vote in favor.

If the bill passes, it still faces an uncertain future in the Senate, which is not even required to take up the measure.

It remains unclear whether Senate Majority Leader John Thune will do so, but the Republican is under immense pressure from both sides of the US political spectrum.

He has previously suggested there is little appetite from Republicans to push for the release of the documents, but a successful House vote could change that.

“I hope John Thune does the right thing,” Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie told ABC News over the weekend.

Another Republican, Senate Majority Rep. John Barrasso, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that only the Senate would “take a look” at the bill if it passes the House.

“We’ll see what he writes,” Barrasso said. “We all want accountability and transparency. But to me, this isn’t about truth. This isn’t about justice.”

“This is about the Democrats’ attempt to make President Trump a lame president,” he added. “And I will not aid and abet them in their efforts to do so.”

The bill will be presented to President Trump only after it is passed by the Senate, and he has said that he will sign the bill and make it law.

But even if it does this, there are obstacles to publishing the files.

For example, the text of the document to be before the House states that the Attorney General may withhold or redact portions of records containing personal information “in a manner that would clearly constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”

“Revealing anything could reveal a lot of private information that is not relevant or appropriate for public consumption,” Jonathan Entin, a professor of constitutional law at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, told the BBC.

“There may also be some issues related to law enforcement techniques that the justice department would not want to be public,” he added.

The proposed House bill also states that the justice department may retain any documents that “endanger an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution,” as long as such retention is narrow-scope and temporary.

This could potentially lead to delays, given that President Trump said in his post that he would call for an investigation into Epstein’s alleged contacts with prominent Democrats such as Bill Clinton and Larry Summers “to determine what is going on with them and him.”

“This is a potential barrier,” Prof Entin said. “If this is, in fact, a serious investigation, prosecutors probably won’t want it all out in the open when they’re deciding whether to file charges.”

Doing so “could create some prejudicial publicity about the targets of the investigation,” which could ultimately lead to intense litigation if any indictments are brought, the official added.

For those campaigning for the files to be released, anything that is not fully disclosed is likely to raise further questions and even anger.

“I believe the country deserves transparency about these files,” Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has publicly sparred with Trump over the files, told CNN on Sunday.

“I have no idea what’s in the files. I can’t even guess,” Greene added. “But the question everyone is asking is, why are you fighting this so much?”