The White House under President Donald Trump reportedly attempted to persuade Senate Republicans to delay or amend the Epstein Files Transparency Act, despite its overwhelming approval in the House of Representatives. According to multiple news outlets, White House aides privately urged GOP senators to slow-walk the bill, insert amendments permitting redactions, and allow delays for what they described as “messaging and management” before the files were released to the public.
Aides were said to have approached vulnerable Republican senators up for re-election next year, framing the slowdown as “responsible oversight” and warning that the unfolding focus on the Epstein case could distract from President Trump’s legislative agenda. Circulated talking points reportedly encouraged senators to subtly redirect attention away from Epstein while still expressing support in principle for transparency.
However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune rejected the idea outright. With the House voting 427–1 in favor of the measure, Thune believed that any attempt to alter or stall such a nearly unanimous bill would be politically untenable. As a result, the Senate moved with unusual speed, passing the measure on Tuesday night almost immediately after receiving it from the House. The rapid vote reportedly blindsided the White House, which had expected more time to build support for amendments.
The political stakes for Trump have been unusually high. The president had campaigned heavily on releasing the Epstein files, but his administration’s attempt over the summer to wind down the investigation and declare there were no further co-conspirators sparked intense backlash among his base. Trump has since attempted to reframe the Epstein case as a Democratic fabrication, even as bipartisan pressure for full transparency intensified.
That pressure culminated last week when a discharge petition in the House crossed the 218 signatures needed to force a vote. Confronted with the inevitability of the bill’s passage, Trump reversed course and urged Republicans—many of whom had voted against releasing the files earlier in the year and had already pledged to oppose the measure again—to support it.
The final version of the bill requires the Justice Department to release all unclassified Epstein-related documents, including investigative materials, flight logs, and official communications, within 30 days of enactment. Limited exceptions are permitted only for active investigations and child exploitation materials. Though Trump is expected to sign the bill, critics such as Rep. Thomas Massie warn that the DOJ may still selectively withhold politically inconvenient documents, especially following a newly ordered Trump-backed probe focused on Epstein’s alleged Democratic connections.