President Donald Trump's tight grip on Washington showed signs of loosening on Tuesday as nearly all Republican House members voted to require the Justice Department to release the files on sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein's earlier ties to Trump have been closely scrutinized.
The bill passed the House of Representatives with an overwhelming majority of 427 votes in favor and 1 vote against. Hours later, the Senate unanimously agreed that the bill would pass without further proceedings once it reaches the chamber. The bill will then go to Trump, who has said he will sign it.
Trump on Sunday night reversed his previous opposition and directed Republicans to vote in favor of releasing the records. Senate Republicans ignored calls from House Speaker Mike Johnson to give the Justice Department more discretion to withhold documents.
"I don't care when the Senate passes the House bill, whether it's tonight or in the near future, I just don't want Republicans to lose sight of all the wins we've had," Trump said on social media Tuesday night.
The votes marked another political setback for Trump after his party suffered an election defeat earlier this month. He is also working to regain control of the U.S. economic narrative as the cost of living becomes a key issue in next year's midterm elections.
According to the latest CNN/SSRS poll, 37% of Americans approve of Trump. This proportion makes it difficult for many current Republican congressmen to run for office based on the president's performance next year and may create rifts within the party.
A group of dissident Republican lawmakers, including three members of the "MAGA" camp, joined forces with Democrats to bypass the Republican leadership and push for the release of Epstein's files. They ultimately forced Trump to concede rather than accept his demands to drop the issue.
An October Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that only 4 in 10 Republicans approved of Trump's handling of the Epstein dossier. Perhaps more tellingly, there are almost six times as many opponents as supporters among independent voters.
The House Oversight Committee is investigating the Epstein case and on Tuesday issued subpoenas to JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank for Epstein's financial records.