The Senate on this Tuesday quickly approved to a bill that will require the publication of investigative files concerning the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, following a near-unanimous vote in the lower house and a change of position by the president and his Republican allies. The White House gave in after an extended period of trying to block the bipartisan effort involving a controversy that has plagued the president since his return to the White House.
Swift Passage in Both Chambers
Senators proceeded by consensus, which needs acceptance from each senator but avoids a recorded vote, accelerating the process. Just before, the House passed by a huge margin the bill on a massive majority.
“The American people have waited long enough. The survivors have waited long enough,” the top Senate Democrat said in a Senate remarks on Tuesday, before requesting the chamber to adopt it by consent. “Let the truth come out. Allow openness to prevail.”
Future Action
The bill next goes to Donald Trump for his approval. The president signaled on Monday that he would sign the measure.
Although the president has for months rejected the controversy over the government’s handling of the investigation as a “false narrative”, he voiced approval for the House bill over the weekend, and announced he would give his assent if it reaches his desk.
Support and Opposition
Opposition lawmakers, along with survivors of Epstein and their representatives who were watching from a House gallery, broke into applause after the bill was enacted. The only opposition came from a GOP representative, who expressed concern he worried the measure would disclose specific data of people, those under scrutiny and others implicated in the investigation.
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