The upper chamber of Congress on this Tuesday gave swift approval to a bill that will mandate the disclosure of case documents associated with the deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, following a overwhelming vote in the lower house and a reversal by the president and his Republican allies. The administration changed course after months of trying to block the joint action involving a case that has dogged the president since his return to the White House.
Swift Approval in Congress
The Senate acted by general agreement, which requires approval from each senator but does not require a recorded vote, speeding up the process. Just before, the House overwhelmingly approved the bill on a 427-1 tally.
“The American people have endured sufficient delay. Jeffrey Epstein’s victims have waited long enough,” the Senate Democratic leader said in a floor speech on Tuesday, before requesting the Senate to pass it unanimously. “Let the truth come out. Let transparency reign.”
Next Steps
This legislation next heads to Trump for his signature. The president indicated on Monday that he would sign the measure.
Even though Trump has for an extended period downplayed the uproar over the official management of the Epstein case as a “false narrative”, he signalled his support for the House bill over the weekend, and announced he would sign the measure if it comes to him.
Reaction
Democrats, along with survivors of Epstein and their representatives who were watching from a House gallery, cheered after the bill was enacted. The only opposition came from a GOP representative, who said he was concerned the measure would disclose identifying details of individuals involved, persons of interest and others implicated in the investigation.
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