The upper chamber of Congress on Tuesday quickly approved to a bill that will force the release of official records associated with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, after a overwhelming vote in the lower house and a change of position by the president and his GOP allies. Trump's team gave in after months of trying to block the cross-party initiative involving a scandal that has plagued the president since his comeback to the White House.
Swift Passage in Congress
The Senate acted by consensus, which needs acceptance from each senator but does not require a formal roll call vote, speeding up the process. Hours earlier, the House passed by a huge margin the bill on a massive majority.
“The American people have endured sufficient delay. Those affected have suffered long enough,” Chuck Schumer said in a address to the chamber on Tuesday, before asking the Senate to approve it without opposition. “Let the truth come out. Ensure full disclosure.”
Future Action
The bill next heads to Trump for his approval. He signaled on Monday that he would endorse the legislation.
Though the president has for an extended period rejected the outcry over the government’s handling of the investigation as a “Democrat hoax”, he signalled his support for the measure over the past few days, and said he would approve it if it reaches his desk.
Response
Democrats, along with survivors of Epstein and their advocates who were present in a public section, cheered after the bill was passed. Lone dissent came from a GOP representative, who expressed concern he worried the measure would disclose specific data of witnesses, persons of interest and others involved in the investigation.
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