Epstein files bill heads to Trump after Congress approves
U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, speaks to reporters outside his office on the 41st day of the federal government shutdown at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on November 10, 2025.
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images
A bill forcing the Justice Department to release its files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has officially passed both houses Congress On Wednesday, we sent the legislation to President Donald Trump for signature.
The bipartisan bill, which the House approved on Tuesday, was immediately passed when it was sent to the Senate on Wednesday morning.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY) signed a unanimous consent agreement allowing the legislation to pass the upper chamber as soon as it is received.
Trump said he would on Monday sign the billThis would release, among other information, all of the Justice Department’s secret records related to Epstein and his convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
It was unclear exactly when Trump would sign the measure. The president plans to review the bill as soon as he receives it, a senior White House official told NBC News on Wednesday morning.
The law received overwhelming support in Parliament; All lawmakers except Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana voted for the legislation on Tuesday.
Trump urged GOP allies Sunday night to support the measure; This was a major shift in stance that reflected the bill’s growing momentum in Congress.
But the president remained angered by the focus on Epstein, calling it a “hoax” by Democrats to distract from his administration’s accomplishments.
He repeatedly attacked reporters when asked about his connections to the late financier, who died by suicide in prison in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges. Trump and Epstein were friends until the early 2000s, but the two fell out years before Epstein’s death.
When an ABC News reporter asked Trump on Tuesday why he didn’t release the Epstein files himself has the strength to do – the president insulted him and called for ABC’s broadcast license to be revoked.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
on Trump 2024 campaign tracking He claimed that he would release files on Epstein. In the early months of his second term, officials in his administration signaled that they would press for the disclosure of these files.
For example, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in February that Epstein’s rumored “client list” “is currently sitting on my desk for review.” That same month, a group of pro-Trump influencers obtained files labeled “Epstein Files: Phase 1” at the White House.
But these connectors contain some new information. And the Justice Department said in an unsigned memo in July that a review of Epstein-related materials “revealed no incriminating ‘client lists’.” The memo also included the agency’s conclusion that “further disclosure would not be appropriate or warranted.”
The announcement outraged both Democrats and some prominent voices in Trump’s base.
In the following months, scrutiny of Trump’s past relationship with Epstein increased.
In July, The Wall Street Journal reported the existence of a “salacious” and cryptic note to Epstein bearing Trump’s signature; The note was part of a collection of letters collected for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003. Trump denied writing the letter and filed a defamation lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch, the Journal’s publisher and media mogul.
The House Oversight Committee last week released thousands of documents it obtained through a subpoena from Epstein’s estate, including emails showing Epstein mentioning Trump.
“I know how dirty Donald is,” Epstein wrote of Trump in a 2018 email thread. In an April 2019 email to author Michael Wolff, Epstein wrote that Trump “was aware of the girls.” CNBC has not independently verified the emails, and it is unclear what Epstein was referring to.
House Democrats and a handful of Republicans tried to approve a habeas corpus petition that would force a vote in the GOP-dominated chamber on the bill to release the Epstein files. That effort was delayed for weeks by the government shutdown, which delayed the swearing in of a Democratic lawmaker who would provide the final necessary signature.
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.
