The upper chamber of Congress on Tuesday passed without delay to legislation that will mandate the disclosure of case documents concerning the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, following a almost unanimous vote in the lower house and a reversal by Donald Trump and his GOP allies. Trump's team changed course after an extended period of trying to block the cross-party initiative involving a case that has followed the president since his comeback to the White House.
Expedited Approval in Congress
The Senate acted by consensus, which needs acceptance from each senator but does not require a individual voting process, speeding up the process. Just before, the House voted decisively for the bill on a near-unanimous vote.
Citizens have waited long enough. Jeffrey Epstein’s victims have suffered long enough,” the Senate Democratic leader stated in a Senate remarks on Tuesday, before asking the Senate to adopt it by consent. “Let the truth come out. Let transparency reign.”
Future Action
The bill next heads to the president for his endorsement. Trump stated on Monday that he would approve the bill.
Although the president has for months dismissed the controversy over the government’s handling of the Epstein case as a “Democrat hoax”, he expressed his backing for the legislation over the weekend, and announced he would give his assent if it reaches his desk.
Support and Opposition
Democrats, along with those affected and their supporters who were present in a viewing area, broke into applause after the bill was approved. Lone dissent came from Clay Higgins, who said he worried the measure would make public specific data of witnesses, persons of interest and others implicated in the investigation.
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