Republicans Face Jeffrey Epstein Reckoning as End of Shutdown Looms [View all]

Source: Newsweek

Published Nov 11, 2025 at 06:23 AM EST


With the longest government shutdown in U.S. history nearing an end, Republicans are set to face another reckoning on Jeffrey Epstein as a petition to force a vote to compel the release of the government’s files on Epstein garners the needed support.

President Donald Trump’s administration has faced scrutiny from both critics and supporters since the FBI and Justice Department abruptly announced in July that it would not be releasing any additional records from the sex trafficking investigation into Epstein, saying in a memo there was no evidence that Epstein maintained a "client list" and that no “further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.” Authorities have said Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting sex trafficking charges.

Survivors of Epstein’s abuse and lawmakers from both major parties have been calling for the release of the files, but Trump has repeatedly dismissed the scandal as a “hoax,” accusing Democrats of trying to distract from his administration’s success. In defiance of party leadership, Republican Representative Thomas Massie began gathering signatures on a petition to force a vote for the release of the Justice Department's files on the investigation into Epstein. Newsweek has contacted Massie for comment via an email sent outside regular business hours.

Since the middle of September, Massie's petition has been one name away from success. The final signature is set to come from Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat who won a September 23 special election in Arizona to succeed her late father. She has said she’ll sign the petition once she takes office, giving the petition the 218 signatures needed to trigger a floor vote. But Grijalva has still not been sworn in, with House Speaker Mike Johnson saying he would not seat her until the government shutdown ends. Democrats have accused Johnson of refusing to seat Grijalva to push off any Epstein vote, which he has denied.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-jeffrey-epstein-reckoning-shutdown-end-looms-11027112