The upper chamber of Congress on Tuesday gave swift approval to a bill that will require the publication of official records concerning the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, following a overwhelming vote in the lower house and a change of position by Donald Trump and his GOP allies. Trump's team relented after an extended period of trying to block the cross-party initiative involving a controversy that has plagued the president since his return to the White House.
Unanimous Passage in Congress
The Senate acted by unanimous consent, which needs acceptance from each senator but avoids a recorded vote, expediting the process. Hours earlier, the House overwhelmingly approved the bill on a near-unanimous vote.
“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 chamber to pass it unanimously. “Reveal the truth. Let transparency reign.”
Future Action
The measure next heads to the president for his signature. The president signaled on Monday that he would approve the bill.
Even though Trump has for months downplayed the controversy over the government’s handling of the investigation as a “Democrat hoax”, he signalled his support for the legislation over the past few days, and announced he would sign the measure if it comes to him.
Support and Opposition
Opposition lawmakers, along with those affected and their supporters who were seated in a public section, broke into applause after the bill was enacted. The sole “no” vote came from Clay Higgins, who stated he worried the measure would reveal specific data of witnesses, persons of interest and others implicated in the investigation.
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