The Senate on Tuesday passed without delay to a bill that will mandate the disclosure of case documents related to the deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, following a overwhelming vote in the House of Representatives and a change of position by the president and his Republican allies. Trump's team gave in after months of trying to block the bipartisan effort involving a scandal that has dogged the president since his comeback to the White House.
Swift Approval in Congress
The Senate acted by general agreement, which needs acceptance from each senator but avoids a individual voting process, speeding up the process. Just before, the House passed by a huge margin the bill on a near-unanimous vote.
“The American people have been patient long enough. The survivors have waited patiently,” the Senate Democratic leader said in a address to the chamber on Tuesday, before urging the Senate to adopt it by consent. “Reveal the truth. Ensure full disclosure.”
Future Action
This legislation next will be sent to Donald Trump for his signature. Trump stated on Monday that he would sign the measure.
Though Trump has for an extended period rejected the uproar over the official management of the Epstein case as a “Democrat hoax”, he signalled his support for the House bill over the weekend, and announced he would approve it if it reaches his desk.
Support and Opposition
Democrats, along with survivors of Epstein and their representatives who were watching from a House gallery, broke into applause after the bill was approved. Lone dissent came from a GOP representative, who expressed concern he worried the measure would make public identifying details of individuals involved, persons of interest and others involved in the investigation.
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