Senate Republicans defeat Democrats' effort to force the release of
Epstein files
[September 11, 2025]
By STEPHEN GROVES
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a close vote, Senate Republicans defeated an effort
Wednesday by Democrats to insert language into Congress’ annual defense
authorization bill that would have forced the public release of case
files on the sex trafficking investigation into the late Jeffrey
Epstein.
The Senate voted 51-49 to dismiss the changes to the bill, with
Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Rand Paul of Kentucky
joining with all Democrats in opposition.
For months, Democrats have clamored for the release of what's become
known as the Epstein files, looking for practically every opportunity to
force Republicans to either join their push for disclosure or publicly
oppose a cause that many in the Republican base support. President
Donald Trump signaled as he was running for president that he was open
to releasing a full accounting of the case, but is now trying to dismiss
the push as a “Democrat hoax.”
So far, Democrats have been successful in forcing Republican leadership
to grapple with the issue, yet it was unclear whether they would
actually be able to crack Trump's hold on congressional Republicans to
force legislation through Congress.
“I ask my Republican colleagues, after all those years you spent calling
for accountability, for transparency, for getting to the bottom of these
awful crimes, why won’t you vote yes?" Senate Democratic leader Chuck
Schumer said in a floor speech Wednesday.
The New York Democrat maneuvered earlier Wednesday to force a procedural
vote on language that would force the Justice Department to release the
Epstein files, inserting it into an annual defense policy bill that
Congress has to pass. Senate Republican leadership was then forced to
hold a vote to dispense with Schumer's amendment, arguing that he was
inserting political gamesmanship into defense legislation that often
enjoys bipartisan support.
"This is not the right way to do it,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, a South
Dakota Republican.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said earlier this week that the
Justice Department “has already released tons of files" on Epstein.
“I trust them in terms of having the confidence that they’ll get as much
information out there as possible in a way that protects the rights of
the victims,” added Thune, R-S.D.
Still, many in the Republican base — as well as some victims of
Epstein's abuse — have been unsatisfied with what the Justice Department
has so far released.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., holds an impromptu
news conference with reporters just outside the chamber to say he
has filed an amendment on the Senate floor to require the attorney
general to release the Epstein files and Republicans will have to
vote on it, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The calls for disclosure of Epstein's case has at moments consumed
Congress, looming over politics even more than when Epstein killed
himself in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial in 2019 on charges
that said he sexually abused and trafficked dozens of underage
girls. The case was brought more than a decade after he secretly cut
a deal with federal prosecutors in Florida to dispose of nearly
identical allegations. Epstein was accused of paying underage girls
hundreds of dollars in cash for massages and then molesting them.
Asked by reporters Wednesday why Democrats had not pushed for
disclosure when they controlled the White House, Schumer responded,
“It’s become so apparent that they’re lying about it in every
different way and the demands of the American people are so great.”
“The need is greater than ever now,” he added.
Meanwhile, a separate effort to force a vote on a similar bill in
the House inched ahead.
Democrats picked up one more House seat when Rep. James Walkinshaw,
D-Va., was sworn into office after winning a special election this
week. It gives them one more supporter for a procedure — called a
discharge petition — to maneuver around Republican leadership's
control of the House floor and hold a vote on legislation to force
the Justice Department to release the Epstein files.
Four Republicans have also signed onto the discharge petition,
meaning that it is just one name short of having the support needed
to potentially force a vote. That could come as soon as the end of
this month when a heavily blue congressional district in Arizona
holds a special election to fill a vacant seat.
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