Congressman Andy Biggs says he will vote to release the Epstein files despite efforts by President Donald Trump to keep lawmakers from forcing the Justice Department to disclose the records.
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced a petition in July to force a vote on their bill, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson, who would not bring the legislation to a vote.
Minutes after Arizona Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva was sworn into office Wednesday, she signed her name to the Epstein petition, pushing it to the magic number of 218 — a majority in the 435-member House.
Biggs, a Republican and close Trump ally, did not sign the petition.
But on Thursday, he said he plans to vote in favor of releasing the files, a day after lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee released more than 20,000 pages of documents they obtained as part of an investigation into Epstein.
“There’s nobody here that can define what the Epstein files is, not even myself,” Biggs said. “I don't know what the Epstein files are, but what I'm in favor of is releasing and being transparent with all the documentation that they have that they can release.”
Biggs’ comments come as the Trump administration is reportedly putting pressure on Republicans backing the release. Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, another Trump ally, still signed the discharge petition after meeting administration officials, according to Colorado Public Radio.
Grijalva, the Arizona Democrat, said she is cautiously optimistic that the legislation will make it to a vote.
“If there is a vote, I’m glad for it,” she said. “Let’s also anticipate that Trump is going to exert every possible angle and pressure on every Republican.”
Biggs said President Trump has not asked him to oppose the release.
“No, he's never asked me to one way or the other on that,” Biggs said.
Even if the legislation passes the House and Senate, it is still unclear whether Senate Republicans would bring the measure to a vote.
Asked in September whether the Senate would take up the Epstein bill if it passed the House, Majority Leader John Thune, (R-S.D.) said, “I can’t comment on that at this point.”
Thune added that the Justice Department “has already released tons of files related to this matter.”
“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,” Thune said.
And, even if it passes both chambers, it would go to Trump, who almost certainly would veto it.
“The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.”
Khanna told NPR that the measure could garner enough support in both chambers to override the president’s veto — something that’s only happened twice since 2009.
Massie said Trump can avoid the entire ordeal by releasing all the Epstein files held by the federal government.
“There’s still time for him to be the hero,” Massie said of Trump.
