The upper chamber of Congress on this Tuesday gave swift approval to a bill that will mandate the disclosure of official records related to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, after a near-unanimous vote in the House of Representatives and a shift by Donald Trump and his GOP allies. The White House relented after an extended period of trying to forestall the bipartisan effort involving a controversy that has followed the president since his comeback to the White House.
Swift Passage in Congress
Senators proceeded by general agreement, which needs acceptance from each senator but avoids a formal roll call vote, speeding up the process. Hours earlier, the House voted decisively for the bill on a 427-1 tally.
“The American people have endured sufficient delay. Jeffrey Epstein’s victims have suffered long enough,” the Senate Democratic leader said in a address to the chamber on Tuesday, before urging the Senate to adopt it by consent. “Uncover the facts. Let transparency reign.”
Future Action
The measure next heads to Donald Trump for his signature. Trump signaled on Monday that he would approve the bill.
Though the president has for an extended period downplayed the outcry over the official management of the scandal as a “false narrative”, he voiced approval for the legislation over the weekend, and announced he would approve it if it reaches his desk.
Support and Opposition
Opposition lawmakers, along with those affected and their supporters who were watching from a public section, broke into applause after the bill was approved. Lone dissent came from a GOP representative, who said he worried the measure would disclose specific data of individuals involved, persons of interest and others involved in the investigation.
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