Every Republican on the House Rules Committee voted to block the release of all unclassified records related to Jeffrey Epstein.
In a vote on Tuesday, the committee shot down the Epstein Files Transparency Act by a margin of 8 votes to 4. Had the act passed the committee, it would have gone to a floor vote.
The motion had been introduced by Democratic Ranking Member Jim McGovern. Before the vote, he stressed the importance of transparency in the case of the notorious late pedophile.
READ NEXT: Jon Stewart slams ‘Make-A-Wish’ president Trump in brutally accurate monologue
The vote came after a 2003 birthday message to Epstein seemingly written and signed by Trump was released on Monday.
The letter features a poem to Epstein and a drawing of a woman’s body.
“I can see why the administration might want to hide [the Epstein files] if the creepy birthday note from Trump to Epstein is any indication of what might be in those files,” McGovern said.
“But if the administration won’t follow through on their promises, Congress should force them to.”
McGovern was one of four Democrats who voted ‘yes’ on the committee.
Epstein Files Transparency Act
The Republicans who voted to block the Epstein Files Transparency Act on Tuesday were:
- Virginia Foxx—North Carolina
- Michelle Fischbach—Minnesota
- Ralph Norman—South Carolina
- Chip Roy—Texas
- Nicholas Langworthy—New York
- Austin Scott—Georgia
- H. Morgan Griffith—Virginia
- Brian Jack—Georgia
A wider effort is taking place to force a vote on the bill in the House of Representatives. Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California and Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who brought forward the legislation, have so far managed to secure 216 of the 218 signatures needed to force a floor vote.
For weeks, Trump and his administration have been under pressure to release all files relating to Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in custody awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019.
After Trump endorsed the idea of releasing the Epstein files during his 2024 presidential campaign, his government backpedaled on this earlier this year, claiming there was nothing of significance in the files.
This prompted a backlash from some of the most loyal supporters of Trump and MAGA, with people on both sides of the political spectrum theorising that Trump has backtracked on releasing the files because some of his biggest allies – or even Trump himself – could be implicated.