A petition led by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to force a House vote on a second Jeffrey Epstein files bill reached the 218 signatures it needed Wednesday, setting up a possible floor showdown in early December, ABC News, Axios and The Hill reported. The Epstein Files Transparency Act II would allow state attorneys general, victims and members of Congress to sue the U.S. attorney general over Epstein-related investigative records that are unlawfully withheld or redacted, ABC News reported.
All 214 House Democrats signed the petition, along with four Republicans: Massie, Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman of South Carolina, and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, according to ABC News and Axios. Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., supplied the final signature, Axios reported, citing House clerk records.
Massie said he was working with Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico and Ro Khanna of California “to get this to the floor for a vote soon,” The Hill reported. Massie is leaving Congress after President Donald Trump backed a primary challenger against him, Axios noted.
The first Epstein files bill passed the House 427-1 in November 2025 after an earlier Massie petition, and Trump signed it into law. The Justice Department missed that law’s Dec. 19, 2025, deadline but announced in January that it had released nearly 3.5 million pages, according to Axios. Survivors and lawmakers have accused the department of withholding too much while exposing victims through inadequate redactions. A report released Tuesday by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee faulted the administration’s handling of the disclosures and said its investigation found no evidence implicating Trump in Epstein’s crimes, Axios reported.
The White House did not answer questions about the bill, Axios reported. In a statement, spokesperson Lauren Bis said Trump has “been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein” and that “by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and calling for more investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, President Trump has done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him.” Speaker Mike Johnson’s office did not respond to Axios’ request for comment.
Under House rules, the petition must sit for at least seven legislative days before a signer can call it up, ABC News reported. Any floor action would come after the Thanksgiving recess, potentially as early as Dec. 2 or 3, ABC said. Even if the House passes the bill, Senate Republican leaders could decline to take it up before the new Congress is sworn in in January, Axios reported.