Entire Texas congressional delegation votes to release Epstein files

The U. S. House of Representatives voted nearly unanimously Tuesday to require the Justice Department to publish all of its files related to Jeffrey Epstein, including one Texas Republican who opposed the measure until a few days ago. For months, President Donald Trump resisted calls to release the files as he tried to distance himself from the deceased sex offender, including pressing Republicans against signing a discharge petition a tool through which a majority can circumvent House leadership and force a vote on a bill to compel the Justice Department to release material on Epstein. Last week, the petition garnered the support of all House Democrats and four House Republicans none from Texas to successfully require a vote. The vote comes after the House Oversight Committee released documents last week that draw ties between Trump and Epstein, including emails from Epstein that mention Trump. As it became clear that many Republicans would vote with Democrats to release the files, the president changed his mind. Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday evening that House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files because they have “nothing to hide.” Trump also said Monday that he would sign the bill to release the files if it reached his desk. Later on Tuesday, the Senate agreed to pass the bill unanimously, sending it straight to Trump’s desk. On his podcast Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he supports the release of the files and added he suspected more Democrats would be harmed than Republicans. “The bulk of the evidence, from everything we know, is going to be evidence that is a real, real problem for, I suspect, a significant number of Democrats,” Cruz said. “I’m glad the President did this. I’m hopeful the House can vote. We can put this behind it, and then we can have some real accountability to people who committed criminal acts and hurt underage girls.” Though no Texas Republican joined the effort to compel a vote through the discharge petition, all of them voted in favor of releasing the files on Tuesday. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Louisiana, was the only member who voted against the release. As recently as Friday, Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Richmond, spoke out against the measure. “I’ll be voting NO on the Epstein Hoax,” Nehls wrote on social media. “The Democrats are using the Epstein Hoax to distract us from the winning of President Trump and his administration.” But by Monday, Nehls was parroting Trump and telling reporters he would vote to release the files. The documents will exonerate Trump and prove that the president is not a pedophile, Nehls said. Nehls has previously said Republicans should be doing everything possible to help Trump achieve his goals. “If Donald Trump says ‘Jump three feet high and scratch your heads,’ we all jump three feet high and scratch our heads,” Nehls told reporters last November. Others, like Rep. Keith Self, R-McKinney, had consistently supported the bill, but refused to sign the discharge petition, saying a House panel probing the matter, with the blessing of leadership, was making good progress. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, spoke on the House floor ahead of the vote, emphasizing the importance of transparency. “Today, a united Republican Party and a bipartisan super majority is going to pass a bill to increase transparency regarding the egregious abuses by Jeffrey Epstein,” he said. Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch, said the vote is symbolic because it shows that Congress is standing up for justice. For too long, Republicans have failed to hold people in positions of power accountable, she said. “It is political gamesmanship at its worst,” she said. “They’ve traded that accountability for complicitness to a president out of fear that they’re going to harm their great leader.”.
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2025/11/19/536552/texas-congress-vote-release-epstein-files/