House Republicans are scrambling to quell a groundswell of bipartisan pressure over the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender whose death in federal custody in 2019 continues to spark controversy and suspicion. On September 2, 2025, GOP leaders added a last-minute vote to the week’s legislative calendar, aiming to provide rank-and-file Republicans a formal way to register their support for ongoing congressional investigations into Epstein and his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for crimes connected to the sexual abuse of minors, according to reporting by Politico and CBS News.
Behind the scenes, House Republican leadership is working feverishly to head off a rebellion from within its own ranks. The flashpoint? A discharge petition filed on September 2 by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), with backing from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), designed to force a House vote on their bipartisan bill compelling the Department of Justice to release Epstein-related files within 30 days. The petition needs 218 signatures to bypass leadership and bring the bill directly to the floor—a majority of the House. Khanna told NPR News he’s "very confident" all 212 Democrats will support the petition, leaving Massie needing just a handful of Republicans to get it over the line.
Massie and Khanna’s legislation, first introduced in July, came in response to mounting frustration with the Justice Department’s July memo, which asserted there would be no further disclosures in the Epstein case. The memo followed an internal review that found no so-called "client list" or evidence that Epstein had blackmailed prominent figures—a finding that, rather than quelling speculation, only intensified demands for transparency from both sides of the aisle, CBS News noted.
As Congress returned from its August recess, House Democratic leaders and a number of Republicans renewed their push for a floor vote to force the release of the files. Facing this pressure, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his team added a separate bill to the House schedule, directing the Oversight Committee to "continue its ongoing investigation into the possible mismanagement of the Federal government’s investigation of Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell." But Massie was quick to criticize this move, calling it a "meaningless vote to provide political cover for those members who don't support our bipartisan legislation to force the release of the Epstein files."
Speaker Johnson, for his part, dismissed Massie’s efforts. "I would describe virtually everything Thomas Massie says related to this issue as meaningless," Johnson told reporters on Tuesday, according to Politico. He further argued that the discharge petition had become "moot" and "superfluous" in the wake of a series of Oversight Committee subpoenas issued over the past month, which he said already have the force of law. These subpoenas demand documents from the Justice Department, testimony from high-profile Democrats, and information from the Epstein estate.
Johnson also defended the administration’s and Congress’s approach to the documents, telling CBS News that "the Department of Justice complied with all the subpoenas they received and are processing 34,000 documents already." He added, "And we're going to move that along as quickly as possible so that all of this is pushed out to the public so the American people can make their own decisions."
The Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), made public the first batch of Epstein-related files it received from the Justice Department last month as the result of a subpoena. Comer himself held a lengthy, emotional closed-door meeting on September 2 with bipartisan members of his panel and several of Epstein’s accusers, using Congress’s first day back in Washington to confront the thorny issue head-on. Speaker Johnson joined the meeting for more than two hours—a rare and telling commitment for a House Speaker, signaling the seriousness with which GOP leaders are treating the matter.
Still, not everyone is convinced by the leadership’s moves. Critics, including Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the senior Democrat on the House Rules Committee, dismissed the new GOP-backed resolution as little more than a smokescreen. "It’s mumbo jumbo. It’s not real. Maybe that gives some people some cover, but it’s hard for me to believe that anybody would fall for that," McGovern told Politico. "Read the Comer bill—it’s cover. I mean, this is pretty simple: Release the files."
The crux of the dispute centers on whether the leadership’s resolution truly mandates the release of all Epstein-related files held by the Department of Justice. Massie, Khanna, and their supporters argue it does not. Their bill would explicitly require the DOJ to release the files within 30 days—something the leadership’s resolution stops short of demanding. Massie remains optimistic that public pressure will eventually force the issue. "Eventually, the people are not going to be satisfied with what’s happening in the Oversight Committee. It’s not going to bring the closure they’re looking for," he said.
Meanwhile, the White House has reportedly been reaching out to lawmakers regarding the discharge petition, according to Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), who declined to say whether he would sign. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who attended the emotional Oversight meeting with Epstein accusers, expressed caution about releasing files without proper redaction of personal identifying information. “We got to rethink the whole files thing. Apparently, there’s some files that they don’t want out,” Burchett said, adding he wants to be sure victims’ privacy is protected before supporting the petition. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) indicated she would likely sign the petition but believes the files will be released regardless.
On the other hand, Oversight Committee Chairman Comer has stated publicly that "we’re going to make this information public—that’s what the American people want," but stressed the complexity of the situation: "It’s very complicated because there are victims of the Epstein files, and we want to listen to those victims and their families and their attorneys to see how best can we present this information," he told Fox News.
The push for transparency has only grown since the Justice Department’s internal review in July, which found no evidence of a "client list" or blackmail, but left many questions unanswered. Massie and Khanna are planning a Capitol news conference on September 3 alongside survivors of Epstein’s abuse to keep the pressure on. The Oversight Committee, for its part, has pledged to make records it received from the Justice Department public, after necessary redactions to protect the privacy of victims.
Epstein’s shadow continues to loom over Washington, with both parties facing uncomfortable questions about the government’s handling of the investigation and the limits of transparency. As the House wrestles with competing bills, petitions, and subpoenas, one thing is clear: the demand for answers isn’t going away anytime soon.
