The Senate on Tuesday passed without delay to a bill that will mandate the disclosure of case documents concerning the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, following a overwhelming vote in the House of Representatives and a shift by the president and his GOP allies. Trump's team changed course after an extended period of trying to block the cross-party initiative involving a scandal that has dogged the president since his return to the White House.
Unanimous Approval in Congress
The Senate acted by consensus, which needs acceptance from each senator but avoids a formal roll call vote, expediting the process. Earlier that day, the House voted decisively for the bill on a massive majority.
“The American people have waited long enough. Jeffrey Epstein’s victims have suffered long enough,” the top Senate Democrat declared in a address to the chamber on Tuesday, before urging the Senate to pass it unanimously. “Uncover the facts. Ensure full disclosure.”
Next Steps
The bill next goes to the president for his endorsement. Trump stated on Monday that he would sign the measure.
Even though the president has for an extended period dismissed the uproar over the authorities' approach of the scandal as a “Democrat hoax”, he expressed his backing for the measure over the weekend, and announced he would give his assent if it comes to him.
Support and Opposition
Opposition lawmakers, along with victims and their supporters who were watching from a House gallery, cheered after the bill was approved. The only opposition came from a Louisiana Republican, who said he feared the measure would reveal specific data of witnesses, potential suspects and others involved in the investigation.
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