By: Helen Cherlovsky- Jewish Voice News

The House of Representatives voted by an overwhelming margin on Tuesday to compel the Department of Justice to release long-withheld files related to financier Jeffrey Epstein, marking a rare and forceful bipartisan rebuke of federal secrecy surrounding one of the most controversial criminal cases in modern American history. As reported on Tuesday by Fox News Digital, the vote capped months of rising pressure from lawmakers across the political spectrum who argued that the American public — and Epstein’s survivors — deserved a full accounting of information long shielded behind the walls of the DOJ.

The final tally, 427 to 1, reflected near-total unanimity among Democrats and Republicans, underscoring a shared legislative determination to force transparency in a scandal that has spanned decades and involved allegations of sex trafficking, government failure, and the elusiveness of high-profile co-conspirators. Several survivors of Epstein’s crimes were present in the House chamber when the measure passed, and according to Fox News Digital, they were seen erupting into cheers as the final votes were recorded — a rare moment of visible emotion during proceedings typically bound by formality.

The resolution, shepherded by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., sought to mandate the release of DOJ investigative documents related to Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. The bill had been the subject of extensive cross-party advocacy, and its passage was regarded by lawmakers and observers as a watershed in congressional oversight. As the Fox News Digital report emphasized throughout its coverage, the bipartisan pressure campaign had intensified as lawmakers questioned the adequacy of the Department of Justice’s transparency and the thoroughness of its past investigations.

Yet the vote was not entirely unanimous. The lone dissenter, Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., cast the only vote against the measure and promptly took to X to explain his opposition. In his post, which Fox News Digital cited in its report, Higgins argued that the bill risked “injuring thousands of innocent people,” including witnesses, family members, or individuals peripherally mentioned in investigative files. “If enacted in its current form, this type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt,” he wrote. “Not by my vote.”

Higgins insisted his opposition was rooted not in protecting any particular person of interest, but rather in safeguarding privacy and civil liberties. He pointed to the ongoing work of the House Oversight Committee, which has already released over 60,000 pages of documents related to Epstein. According to the report at Fox News Digital, Higgins said he would support a revised bill if the Senate amended it to include stronger privacy protections for victims and other individuals named in the files but not implicated in wrongdoing.

The tension over privacy versus transparency had defined internal Republican deliberations in the hours leading up to the vote, with several senior GOP lawmakers privately expressing apprehension. Nearly all House Republicans ultimately supported the resolution, influenced in part by strong demands for government transparency from their constituents and by President Trump’s approval of the measure. Fox News Digital reported that Trump’s support played a significant role in galvanizing hesitant members.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who had initially expressed reservations over privacy concerns, announced shortly before the vote that he would support the bill. Speaking at his weekly press conference — remarks that were highlighted in the Fox News Digital report — Johnson warned that releasing raw investigative material could have serious unintended consequences. “Who’s going to want to come forward if they think Congress can take a political exercise and reveal their identities?” he asked. “Who’s going to come talk to prosecutors? It’s very dangerous. It would deter future whistleblowers and informants.” Johnson further cautioned that the release might inadvertently reveal undercover law enforcement personnel involved in future operations.

Despite Johnson’s concerns, GOP leaders had also publicly supported the work of the House Oversight Committee’s concurrent investigation into Epstein’s network. That inquiry, which has already disclosed tens of thousands of pages of previously unseen documents from both the DOJ and Epstein’s estate, was viewed by some Republicans as a safer and more controlled alternative to the broad disclosure the new bill mandates. The Fox News Digital noted that supporters of the bill — primarily Massie, Khanna, and a coalition of bipartisan co-sponsors — argued that existing oversight efforts had not gone far enough and lacked the legal force necessary to secure full transparency.

During a press conference earlier in the day, Massie and Khanna addressed Senate leaders directly, cautioning them against weakening the bill during revisions. Standing beside several Epstein survivors, Massie issued a blunt warning that was quoted by Fox News Digital: “Don’t muck it up in the Senate. Don’t get too cute. We’re all paying attention.” He added that narrow revisions to add protections for survivors would be acceptable, but any changes that impeded disclosure would be regarded as an obstruction of justice. “If you do anything that prevents any disclosure, you are not for the people,” he said. “Do not muck it up in the Senate.”

Khanna echoed those sentiments, framing the bill as a long-overdue step toward justice for victims who had, for years, expressed frustration over the lack of transparency in federal handling of the Epstein case. According to the Fox News Digital report, the survivors present at the press conference stood firmly behind the bill and expressed gratitude for the bipartisan collaboration that had brought it this far.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has not yet publicly confirmed how he plans to proceed. The path forward remains somewhat uncertain, though the political pressure is mounting rapidly. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., signaled he intends to push aggressively for immediate consideration. “Once the House passes the bill… I will move for the Senate to immediately take it up and pass it — period,” Schumer declared in a statement cited by Fox News Digital. He accused Republicans of trying to protect political allies and suppress the release of potentially damaging information, adding, “Americans are tired of waiting and are demanding to see the truth.”

Schumer warned that any attempt by Thune to avoid or delay the bill would be met with procedural resistance. “If Leader Thune tries to bury the bill, I’ll stop him,” he said.

The resolution’s overwhelming passage in the House reflects a national political climate in which transparency around the Epstein case remains a potent and bipartisan issue. According to the report at Fox News Digital, public interest in obtaining a clear and unredacted accounting of Epstein’s operations has grown steadily since his death in federal custody — a death officially declared a suicide but still widely questioned by segments of the public. While lawmakers avoided engaging in such speculation during the debate, they repeatedly emphasized that the public deserves unrestricted access to answers.

The political implications extend far beyond the Epstein case itself. The vote demonstrated the capacity for bipartisan action even in an era of extreme polarization. As the Fox News Digital report noted, it also placed renewed pressure on the DOJ, whose handling of the Epstein investigation and related prosecutorial decisions have been under sharp scrutiny for years.

Survivors — some of whom have spent decades fighting for accountability — have welcomed the House’s action as a significant step. According to the information provided in the Fox News Digital report, many expressed hope that the release of long-protected documents will expose networks of enablers, co-conspirators, and individuals who have never faced public scrutiny. The cheering that erupted in the chamber during the vote reflected not just relief but the culmination of years of advocacy.

Yet the final outcome remains contingent on Senate action. Whether the upper chamber will pass the bill intact, or attempt revisions in the name of privacy protections, remains unresolved. What is certain, as reflected in the Fox News Digital report, is that the eyes of the country — and particularly those of Epstein’s survivors — will be fixed on the Senate in the coming weeks.

For now, the House’s overwhelming vote marks a defining moment in the long, complicated saga of the Epstein case. It reflects a bipartisan demand that the federal government provide long-delayed answers, release hidden evidence, and relinquish secrecy surrounding one of the most profoundly disturbing criminal enterprises in recent American history.