❓WHAT HAPPENED: The House of Representatives near-unanimously adopted a discharge petition and resolution ordering the Department of Justice to release the entirety of the Epstein Files, despite some House Republican leaders holding reservations over the lack of specific protections for victims and the lack of prohibition on the release of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) in the legislation.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: House Republicans, House Democrats, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Representative Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), and President Donald J. Trump.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Tuesday, November 18, 2025, on Capitol Hill.
💬KEY QUOTE: “As I said on Friday night aboard Air Force One to the Fake News Media, House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown.’” — Donald Trump
🎯IMPACT: The legislation will now head to the Senate, where the order will likely undergo significant revisions.
The House of Representatives near-unanimously adopted a discharge petition and resolution ordering the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release the entirety of the Epstein Files, 427 to one, despite some House Republican leaders holding reservations over the lack of specific protections for victims and the lack of prohibition on the release of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) in the legislation. Earlier on Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) held a press conference, urging his U.S. Senate colleagues to amend the legislation to ensure these protections are in place.
Johnson argued that House Republican attempts to amend the discharge petition to ensure the privacy rights of victims and those with no criminal ties to Epstein were rejected by Democrats. “So what am I to do as a leader in a situation like this?” Johnson posed during his morning press conference on Tuesday, ahead of the vote. He continued: “I called my counterpart in the Senate, Leader Thune, and I talked through this with him, and I shared our deep concerns. And of course they share those concerns as well.”
The legislation will now head to the Senate, where, if Johnson’s warnings are heeded, the order will undergo significant revisions. This will mean the legislation will need to be taken up again by the House once it has passed the Senate, before heading to the White House for President Donald J. Trump‘s signature.
The National Pulse reported Monday that President Trump is urging his Republican colleagues in Congress to adopt the measure. “As I said on Friday night aboard Air Force One to the Fake News Media, House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown,’” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
He added: “The Department of Justice has already turned over tens of thousands of pages to the Public on ‘Epstein,’ are looking at various Democrat operatives (Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, etc.) and their relationship to Epstein, and the House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE!”
The House proceedings on Tuesday were relatively calm, other than one instance where Representative Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) had an outburst and accused Trump of being connected to the deceased pedophile on the House floor. This prompted an immediate rebuke from the chair, and Gomez was aggressively gavelled down and prevented from speaking further.
Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.
.jpg){kind=link}
