Another bill to release Epstein files headed to House floor

Nina Heller, CQ-Roll Call on Nov 11, 2026

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WASHINGTON — As Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., enters his final weeks in Congress, he is one step closer to another vote on legislation related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

A discharge petition led by Massie aimed at extracting more files from the Justice Department has now received enough support to force a vote on the House floor.

Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., was the decisive 218th signature on the discharge petition, a procedural tool allowing rank-and-file House members to register their support for a piece of legislation and circumvent leadership to force a vote. Massie and other supporters of the effort say the bill is a bid for transparency.

Earlier this week, Massie said his pitch to his colleagues was simple.

“They could be a hero if they sign it,” he said, as he chased down the final two signatures as the House returned from recess on Monday. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., signed just before Garamendi.

Massie’s time left in office is ticking down after a challenger backed by President Donald Trump ousted him in his GOP primary earlier this year.

The petition marks the second push led by Massie to require the release of the Epstein files. Last fall, Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., led a discharge petition on a bill dubbed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which directed the Justice Department to publicly release documents in its possession related to Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

The bill passed the House by a vote of 427-1 last November, and in the Senate a few days later. Trump signed the measure shortly afterward.

In a statement this summer, Massie said he believes the Justice Department is still withholding more than 3 million files that it is required to release under the November 2025 law and is “maintaining heavy redactions” on others.

The new bill would allow state attorneys general, local prosecutors and victims to sue the federal government for withholding such documents. It would also allow victims to privately view unredacted versions of any records that mention them.

Now that the new petition has reached 218 signatures, it must sit for seven legislative days before being called up by anyone who signed it. Last time around, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., scheduled a House vote on the initial Epstein bill before that ripening period was over, saying it was a foregone conclusion that the legislation would reach the floor.

Other Republicans who have signed on to the petition this year include Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.; Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., none of whom will be returning next Congress. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., backed the initial effort last fall, but her name did not appear on the petition this time.

Allies of the issue in Congress have faced pushback from Trump. While the president suggested during his 2024 reelection campaign that he was open to declassifying some Epstein documents, Trump then shifted gears, calling them a “hoax.”

“Once you get to 218, you can never sign it,” Massie said. “There’s nobody left, no spots left. It goes straight to the floor, and then you can vote for it. But you were never part of the group that actually got it to the floor.”