House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he is “deeply disappointed” after the bill to compel the Justice Department to release documents related to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is heading to President Donald Trump’s desk.
The Senate passed the measure, known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act, by unanimous consent on Tuesday, just hours after the House voted 427-1 to overwhelmingly advance it. The bipartisan bill is moving to Trump as written, despite Johnson calling on the Senate to add more provisions, including additional protections for victims and whistleblowers.
When asked by MS NOW’s Mychael Schnell about Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) leaving the legislation as is, Johnson emphasized it “needed” amendments.
“I just spoke to the president about that,” Johnson said. “We’ll see what happens.”
On whether Trump may veto the bill, which would then require a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress to override it, Johnson replied: “I’m not saying that. I don’t know.”
“We both have concerns, so we’ll see,” he added.
The legislation’s advancement culminates months of opposition from Trump and members of his administration who campaigned to prevent congressional Republicans from giving the measure the light of day. Trump reversed course over the weekend, calling on House Republicans to support the bill tied to the late disgraced financier.
“…We have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown,’” Trump wrote Sunday on his Truth Social platform.
His flip-flop came after he just last week described the files as a “hoax,” arguing that Democrats were bringing up Epstein to “deflect” from the longest-ever government shutdown. He also warned Republicans in Congress against “deflections to Epstein or anything else.”
Trump has already directed the DOJ to investigate alleged links between Epstein and notable Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, as well as banking giant JP Morgan Chase.
Thune said he and Senate GOP legal counsel believed the bill was “sufficient” in how it was constructed, according to POLITICO. Its passage was the product of a discharge petition — introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and co-sponsored by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) — which scored a political victory last week after reaching enough signatures for a vote on the House floor.
The measure gained its final signature with the swearing in of Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) following a seven-week delay, and received support from only a handful of Republicans initially, including Massie and Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).
Trump previously told reporters on Monday that he will sign the bill if it advances through both chambers and reaches his desk.
“I’m all for it,” Trump said, later adding: “Let the Senate look at it. Let anybody look at it. But don’t talk about it too much, because, honestly, I don’t want it to take away from us. It’s really a Democrat problem.”
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