A near-unanimous House vote to release the Epstein files exposed rare GOP defiance of Donald Trump, who only recently reversed his opposition. The 427–1 result came as Marjorie Taylor Greene delivered a fiery floor speech, underscoring deep Republican tensions as the measure moved swiftly to the Senate for approval.
00:00Mr. Speaker, today is an extraordinary day in this chamber.
00:04If my colleagues will vote for this measure, we'll see justice triumph over politics.
00:10Truth will triumph over deception and obfuscation.
00:14Transparency will triumph over dark money.
00:17Partisanship will fall away to bipartisanship.
00:21Grassroots, the people will reclaim the people's house with this vote.
00:27It's going to be a victory for survivors.
00:30Not just survivors of the Epstein sex trafficking scandal, the thousand survivors that exist.
00:38Some of them are victims.
00:40They're no longer alive.
00:41Some have committed suicide.
00:44They share one thing in common.
00:46Their youth was robbed from them.
00:48Much of their lives were robbed from them.
00:50But they're claiming it back.
00:52We're going to help them claim that back.
00:54But it's not just a victory today.
00:57If this vote prevails for those survivors, it's a victory for every person, man or woman, boy or girl, who's been victimized sexually in this country.
01:09Anybody who's been a victim of sexual assault.
01:12Or maybe they've been victimized by a family member.
01:15Maybe it's not a billionaire.
01:16But they're all waiting and watching to see what we do today.
01:22They're wondering, if I go to mom or dad, will anything happen?
01:27If I go to the sheriff, will anything happen?
01:30Well, we have a chance today to make something happen.
01:34Something that's not happened.
01:36Something that should have happened decades ago.
01:38And that is to get justice for these victims and survivors and transparency for America.
01:46That's what this vote is about today.
01:49And I reserve the balance of my time.
01:52Gentleman from Kentucky Reserves.
01:53A gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized.
01:56I reserve...
01:57Gentlelady Reserves.
01:58Gentleman from Kentucky is recognized.
01:59I now yield five minutes to the gentlewoman from Georgia, Mrs. Green.
02:08Gentleman from Georgia is recognized for five minutes.
02:11Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
02:13I proudly rise today in a bipartisan effort to release the Epstein files finally,
02:21after five administrations have covered it up.
02:24Earlier today, I attended the press conference where the survivors, they're not victims,
02:31the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse and sex trafficking told their stories.
02:40And they told stories about how it started back in 1991, 1996, and they continued on through the decades.
02:51And they told stories about how they told someone and tried to get help.
02:56They told the FBI, and they weren't listened to.
02:59And they told law enforcement, and no one did anything.
03:03And these women don't just number a few.
03:06These women number around 1,000 women.
03:12And they are victims of something that's unthinkable.
03:16And this should have never, ever happened.
03:18This was the biggest fight I think I've seen in Washington, D.C.
03:22This is my fifth year here.
03:25And this was a fight that we should have never had to wage.
03:28It should have been the easiest thing for every single member of Congress.
03:33It should have been the easiest thing for the Speaker of the House.
03:36It should have been the easiest thing for the President of the United States
03:40to release all the information, every single file, on behalf of these American women.
03:49These American women aren't rich, powerful elites.
03:53They do not have someone paying for their airline tickets or paying for their trips
03:58or paying for their expenses every time they try to do something to get this information out.
04:04These are your average Americans.
04:08And you want to know what the Epstein files represent?
04:11The cover-up represents to average Americans.
04:15It represents the failures of the federal government and Congress to the American people.
04:22And that is what people rose up about in 2024.
04:26They wanted and demanded transparency from their government and for Americans finally to be put first.
04:35And today, with this vote, we are finally putting these victims and these survivors
04:42of Jeffrey Epstein and the cabal of rich, powerful elites that expands not just here
04:49in the United States of America, but to other countries as well.
04:53We're putting them last.
04:54And that is exactly what Americans want.
04:59You see, for far too long, far too long, Americans have been put last.
05:05And they're sick of it.
05:06They're sick and tired of it.
05:08And this is why they don't trust Congress.
05:11This is why they don't trust the government.
05:15And here's the problem.
05:16All of these women, women who have suffered in shame for years and years and years,
05:23women who were terrified, women who were intimidated, women who were threatened, just like Virginia
05:34Gouffre.
05:34And now she's dead.
05:36And these women should have never faced that for this information to come out.
05:42And we, especially the four Republican members of the House of Representatives,
05:49we should have never faced intimidation and threats for us to get this vote to come to the floor.
05:56Never forget there were four, Thomas Massey, myself, Nancy Mace, and Lauren Boebert.
06:03We had to sign a discharge petition and we had to fight through intimidation and we had to endure it for months to push that discharge petition finally to 218 to get this vote to come out.
06:18Now, this is what the American people are sick of, and rightfully so.
06:25Now, where does this go from here?
06:27The question will remain.
06:29Will the Department of Justice release all the information?
06:33Will the judge in New York release the information?
06:37Will the CIA release the information?
06:39And will foreign governments release their information or will this continue after this vote today be a cover-up?
06:49A cover-up of the rich, powerful elites that bond together in sex and human trafficking abuse
06:56and all types of global business that enriches them but never serves Americans.
07:03The American people will know, and the victims, actually the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, will know because they know the list of names.
07:12And I remain dedicated to my promise to read that names, those names here on the House floor,
07:18if those women ever find them in a place that it needs to be done.
07:22I yield back to Mr. Reagan.
07:24Gentlelady from Georgia yields back.
07:25Gentlelady from Kentucky reserves.
07:27Gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized.
07:31I reserve, Mr. Reagan.
07:32Gentlelady from Kentucky is recognized.
07:36I yield myself a minute and 30 seconds.
07:38Gentlelady is recognized for a minute.
07:39I want to thank the generosity of Jim McGovern, Representative McGovern, for granting us this time.
07:46I'm embarrassed for my own party today.
07:48I'm embarrassed we withheld signing in, swearing in, a duly representative of the people for 49 days just to avoid this vote.
08:01It's finally going to happen today.
08:03I'm embarrassed that my own party isn't going to yield me time to debate this, even though they say they support it, and I authored it.
08:11They don't even want to yield me time to debate this during the bill debate.
08:14But I'm thankful.
08:16Let me tell you who I'm thankful to.
08:18These three brave women, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace, and Lauren Boebert.
08:22They have been threatened.
08:24They have been intimidated.
08:26Physically, politically, it's disgusting.
08:29And not by the far left.
08:33They have been intimidated by people in our own party.
08:38And for what?
08:40For seeking justice for these victims.
08:43So my hat's off.
08:45I congratulate them for standing strong.
08:48I've always wondered where were the Republican men during this battle.
08:51We've taken five months.
08:52These three women and I have had to drag our party to this floor today to even vote on this.
09:00And Ro Khanna is the most to be thanked here in an extraordinary display of bipartisanship.
09:07He did not hesitate when I asked if we wanted to bring this bill to the floor together, if he would stand in the trenches with me.
09:14He said yes.
09:15With that, I reserve.
09:16The gentleman in reserve, the gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized.
09:20Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
09:22I yield myself such time as I may consume.
09:25Gentlelady is recognized.
09:27Boy, we need to get facts straight here.
09:33President Trump's DOJ in his first term arrested and prosecuted Jeffrey Epstein.
09:43We, on our side, want justice to prevail in this case and in every case.
09:53Speaker Johnson has always been clear that if the discharge petition reached the necessary signatures,
10:02that the House would consider the legislation.
10:05And that's what we're providing for in our rule today.
10:10In fact, in fact, as soon as the petition hit 218 votes last Wednesday,
10:21House Republicans offered a unanimous consent request to pass the legislation then.
10:29However, the Democrat leader would not give consent to do that last week.
10:41Why?
10:43Because they're not really interested in this.
10:47They're interested in some other things.
10:49And, Mr. Speaker, I have to correct the record.
10:53Mr. Massey did not request time from me.
10:58I'm the person who controls the time on the Republican side.
11:03And he did not request time from me.
11:06Or I would have given him time.
11:08I reserve.
11:09Gentlelady reserved.
11:10Gentleman from Kentucky is recognized.
11:13I'd like to now recognize the gentlelady from South Carolina for five minutes.
11:17Nancy Mace.
11:18Gentlelady from South Carolina is recognized for five minutes.
11:21Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
11:23And I want to thank my colleagues today for the time, Mr. McGovern and Mr. Khanna,
11:30for the five minutes on the floor to speak about an issue that is not political for me.
11:36Helping the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and his horrific, gruesome, brutal sex trafficking ring is deeply personal.
11:46And while we often have many disagreements about a lot of issues, maybe most issues, today they are allowing us to speak on the floor.
11:55And I want to thank my colleagues, Congressman Massey, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, the four of us making history today over the discharge petition and delivering justice for those who have desperately fought for it for, in some cases, almost 30 years.
12:16I wore white today because I wanted to reflect on the innocence of the young women who had their innocence stolen from a demon named Jeffrey Epstein, from demons, friends of his, rich and powerful people who stole their innocence as young as 14 years old.
12:43It was taken from them, and they've never gotten it back.
12:48I'm also wearing white today to recognize the courage that it takes for women to come forward, the sacrifices to them personally, professionally, financially, the embarrassment, the humiliation, the shame that we still deliver on the backs of women who have been brutalized, who have been raped, who have been assaulted.
13:10The shame that the shame that the media pours over their heads, that their colleagues, their friends, their neighbors, their loved ones, because you come forward and because you talk about sexual assault, you are not a slut.
13:26It's not. It's not because of what you wore. You're not a whore. But that's how women are treated, and you're not lying.
13:34And I want every woman to know, every Epstein survivor to know, every woman across the country who is a survivor, who is a victim of assault, that we, today, we see you.
13:45And this fight and this vote tonight, I see it, it is about the Epstein victims, but it's about much more than the Epstein victims.
13:55This is about the powerless, taking power away from the very powerful.
14:03This is about giving women who never had a voice, giving a voice, giving a voice to the voiceless.
14:15This is about their sacrifice. This is about having and recognizing their courage.
14:22This is about justice for the Epstein victims, but it's also about hope.
14:27Earlier this year, I gave a speech right here on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives,
14:35detailing trauma that I experienced, endured, and am a survivor of, that I accidentally uncovered two years ago, almost to the day.
14:47And today, I still don't have justice, like millions of women across the country.
14:56When I spoke out, I got attacked.
15:00When I spoke out, I was shamed.
15:03When I spoke out, I was defamed and smeared.
15:06And that goes on today, right now, in the present.
15:11God sure has a funny way of working through us.
15:16I, like many of the Epstein survivors and many other survivors across the country,
15:21I don't think I will ever heal from the destruction my abuser did to me.
15:28But I can heal by being a vessel and being a voice for all those who need it.
15:33And that's why we are here today.
15:35That is why I will never abandon a single survivor, ever.
15:40And I will never waver.
15:43I spent my morning talking to law enforcement and others about another potential Jane Doe,
15:51Jane Doe No. 5, who may be another sexual assault victim in the case that I uncovered two years ago.
15:58It's very difficult for us to come forward.
16:03But I want to thank the women who have, the Epstein victims, the victims in the case that I uncovered.
16:09I want to thank all of you for being a voice, for giving me hope.
16:13Maybe one day, I too can get justice.
16:17Thank you, and I yield.
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