The Senate on this Tuesday quickly approved to legislation that will require the publication of investigative files associated with the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after a near-unanimous vote in the US House of Representatives and a shift by the president and his GOP allies. Trump's team relented after an extended period of trying to forestall the cross-party initiative involving a scandal that has followed the president since his return to the White House.
Unanimous Approval in Congress
The Senate acted by general agreement, which requires approval from each senator but avoids a individual voting process, speeding up the process. Earlier that day, the House voted decisively for the bill on a massive majority.
“The American people have waited long enough. Jeffrey Epstein’s victims have suffered long enough,” the Senate Democratic leader said in a address to the chamber on Tuesday, before urging the chamber to pass it unanimously. “Reveal the truth. Let transparency reign.”
Presidential Signature
The measure next heads to Trump for his endorsement. The president stated on Monday that he would endorse the legislation.
Though Trump has for months downplayed the uproar over the government’s handling of the scandal as a “false narrative”, he expressed his backing for the legislation over the weekend, and stated he would give his assent if it is presented to him.
Reaction
Opposition lawmakers, along with survivors of Epstein and their advocates who were seated in a House gallery, applauded after the bill was passed. The only opposition came from Clay Higgins, who said he was concerned the measure would disclose specific data of witnesses, those under scrutiny and others implicated in the investigation.
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