Donald Trump misplaced a uncommon energy wrestle on Capitol Hill Tuesday because the House handed a invoice 427-1 demanding the general public launch of Justice Department data tied to Jeffrey Epstein.

The passage comes weeks after the president’s behind-the-scenes efforts to maintain the laws from ever reaching the ground.

The overwhelming vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act got here after months of quiet maneuvering by Trump’s internal circle, who, in line with Reuters, “for weeks tried to stall or head off a vote in Congress to force the release of investigative files” associated to Epstein.

Even after Donald Trump reversed course and mentioned he supported the measure, his crew had nonetheless been “hoping to amend the bill in the Senate.” The invoice went to the higher chamber, the place they cleared a procedural hurdle Tuesday evening with unanimous consent.

Trump instructed reporters Monday, “I’m all for it,” when requested if he would signal it into regulation. The lopsided vote uncovered a uncommon fracture in Trump’s affect over House Republicans.

Speaker Mike Johnson, who had beforehand opposed bringing the invoice to the ground, finally voted for it whereas persevering with to criticize it as a “political exercise” with “serious deficiencies.” On the House ground, Johnson added, “[Trump] has nothing to hide.”

The White House reportedly tried a number of ways to stall the vote, together with an effort to sway Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert throughout a Situation Room assembly, urging her to not assist the discharge petition that compelled the invoice to a vote.

Trump’s opposition to the invoice additionally triggered an uncommon public break with Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one in every of his most loyal allies in Congress, who supported the laws regardless of the White House’s stance.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson defended the administration’s earlier resistance, saying, “President Trump has never been against releasing the Epstein files – rather, he has always been against Republicans falling into the Democrat trap of talking about this rather than focusing on the historic tax cuts signed into law, the fact that zero illegal aliens have entered our country in five months, and the many other accomplishments of the Trump Administration on behalf of the American people.”

The laws would require Attorney General Pam Bondi to launch all unclassified paperwork associated to Epstein and his convicted affiliate Ghislaine Maxwell.

The invoice particularly requires the disclosure of federal data involving people, together with public officers, linked to Epstein’s felony community, whereas shielding the identities of victims.

About a dozen Epstein survivors have been current within the House gallery for the vote.

Earlier within the day, a number of of them stood outdoors the Capitol urging passage of the invoice and criticizing Trump’s dealing with of the problem.

Even if signed into regulation, the timeline for releasing the information stays unclear.

Justice Department officers have mentioned that paperwork tied to ongoing investigations or protected by government privilege could stay sealed.

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 whereas awaiting trial on federal prices involving sex trafficking of minors.

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