The upper chamber of Congress on this Tuesday gave swift approval to legislation that will mandate the disclosure of case documents related to the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after a near-unanimous vote in the lower house and a change of position by the president and his Republican allies. Trump's team relented after an extended period of trying to block the joint action involving a case that has followed the president since his return to the White House.
Unanimous Passage in Congress
The Senate acted by general agreement, which requires approval from each senator but does not require a recorded vote, speeding up the process. Earlier that day, the House overwhelmingly approved the bill on a 427-1 tally.
“The American people have waited long enough. The survivors have waited patiently,” the Senate Democratic leader said in a Senate remarks on Tuesday, before asking the chamber to approve it without opposition. “Reveal the truth. Allow openness to prevail.”
Future Action
This legislation next goes to the president for his endorsement. Trump signaled on the previous day that he would approve the bill.
Though Trump has for an extended period dismissed the uproar over the authorities' approach of the Epstein case as a “political stunt”, he expressed his backing for the legislation over the past few days, and said he would approve it if it is presented to him.
Response
The Democratic party, along with survivors of Epstein and their supporters who were present in a public section, cheered after the bill was enacted. Lone dissent came from a GOP representative, who stated he feared the measure would disclose personal information of people, persons of interest and others caught up in the investigation.
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