Nicolai Haugsted
More government files regarding Jeffrey Epstein, titles The Epstein Files Transparency Act II, have been forced to be released.
Jeffrey Epstein has been dead for seven years, but the political battle over the government records connected to him is showing remarkably little interest in joining him.
Lawmakers pushing for another round of disclosures now say they have secured enough support to force fresh legislation onto the floor of the House of Representatives.
Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democrat Ro Khanna of California say commitments have reached the magic number: 218.
Their latest effort targets something the first Epstein transparency law was supposed to settle — whether the Justice Department has actually shown the public everything the law requires it to disclose.
Epstein 2.0 clears a major hurdle
Massie and Khanna are behind the Epstein Files Transparency Act II, formally introduced as H.R. 9694. Government records show that the legislation was referred to the House Judiciary Committee after its introduction this summer.
Rather than simply demanding another document dump, the bill comes with considerably sharper teeth.
Victims of Epstein and his associates, members of Congress and certain state and local officials would gain the ability to take legal action against the U.S. attorney general over records they believe are being unlawfully withheld, concealed, delayed or excessively redacted. Victims would also be entitled to obtain unredacted records concerning themselves and the abuse they suffered.
Khanna celebrated the latest breakthrough on Thursday.
“Thomas Massie and I have defied history for a second time, securing 218 signatures on Epstein 2.0,” he said in a video, according to MeidasTouch.
Four Republicans have committed their support, according to Khanna. Massie is joined by Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. Two Democrats who had yet to formally sign were absent because of illness and are expected to add their names once the House returns.
That distinction matters: the lawmakers say they have commitments for the required 218 signatures, rather than 218 signatures already formally recorded on the petition.
House goes home before the vote
Anyone expecting an immediate sequel will have to wait.
House Speaker Mike Johnson sent lawmakers home earlier than scheduled this week, with the chamber not expected to return until after November’s midterm elections. The shortened calendar has left several pieces of unfinished business sitting in Washington, including the Epstein legislation and Massie’s separate attempt to force consideration of articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Massie has accused Johnson of manipulating the House calendar to obstruct his efforts. Johnson has defended the decision to send lawmakers home and has rejected Massie’s broader criticism of his leadership.
Political timing has therefore produced a slightly unusual situation: supporters appear to have found the votes needed to unlock the door, but Congress has gone home before they can turn the key.
Congress has been here before.
Massie and Khanna used the same procedural weapon during their original campaign for the Epstein Files Transparency Act. After their discharge petition reached 218 signatures, the legislation received an extraordinary 427-1 vote in the House in November 2025.
President Donald Trump subsequently signed the measure into law.
Massie and Khanna argue that implementation has fallen far short of what Congress demanded. Their offices have accused the Justice Department of withholding millions of records and using improper or overly broad redactions. A letter from the two lawmakers earlier this year also complained that some victim-interview material had been released almost entirely blacked out, while victim names were left visible elsewhere.
The Justice Department’s handling of the files is facing scrutiny outside Congress as well. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan warned Attorney General Todd Blanche about the possibility of contempt if the department fails to comply with a court order concerning its review and disclosure obligations.
Another vote waits on the other side of the election
Reaching 218 signatures on a discharge petition provides a route around House leadership and toward consideration on the floor. It does not, by itself, turn the proposal into law.
House approval would send the legislation onward to the Senate, where the measure would face another stage of the legislative process.
Khanna, meanwhile, has made clear that securing the signatures is not where he wants the campaign to stop.
“We will not rest until the Epstein abusers are held accountable and there is justice,” he said, according to The Washington Sun.
