This story was updated to report that the Senate also passed the legislation.

WASHINGTON — (BrooklandNews.com) — Nov. 18, 2025 — The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate voted on Tuesday to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a bipartisan measure requiring the Department of Justice to release unclassified records related to the federal investigation of Jeffrey Epstein.

The bill now heads to the president’s desk, where he has indicated that he is likely to sign it.

The House and Senate vote marks one of the most unified outcomes on a major transparency bill in recent years. The measure directs the DOJ to disclose investigative materials and communications connected to the Epstein case, with redactions permitted to protect victims and ongoing law enforcement work.

The only vote against the bill in the House came from Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA). In a statement on X, Higgins said he has opposed the bill from the start, arguing it could expose individuals who are not accused of any wrongdoing.

Higgins wrote that the bill “abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure,” and warned that releasing broad investigative files could reveal the identities of witnesses, people who provided alibis, and family members. “Innocent people being hurt,” Higgins said, was the central reason for his opposition.

Higgins added that the House Oversight Committee has already released documents from the case as part of its ongoing review. He said he may support the legislation if the Senate adds stronger privacy protections for victims and others named in the files but not criminally implicated.

In the months leading up to the vote, President Donald Trump’s position on the Epstein files changed significantly. Trump had previously dismissed congressional efforts to force the release of the records, but by mid-2025 he shifted and publicly backed the Transparency Act, telling supporters he believed “we have nothing to hide.” His endorsement helped accelerate Republican support, with Trump stating he would sign the bill if it reached his desk.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also shifted his stance as pressure built. Earlier in the year, Johnson resisted calls for a House vote and criticized attempts to force action, including a bipartisan discharge petition filed by Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna. He warned at the time that using a discharge petition to compel a floor vote was “reckless,” and his decision to send the House into an early recess was widely viewed as an effort to delay action on the Epstein files.

But momentum around the issue grew quickly. The discharge petition gathered substantial bipartisan support, putting Johnson in a position where the legislation would come to the floor with or without his approval. As the pressure mounted — and with Trump now urging Republicans to back the release of the files — Johnson shifted toward supporting the effort and emphasized the need for “maximum transparency.” In the days before the vote, he said the Epstein case was “not a hoax” and urged senators to strengthen privacy protections as the bill moved to the upper chamber.

Brookland News will continue to monitor developments as the bill moves through Congress.