On Nov. 19, 2025, President Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law, requiring the Justice Department to make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format all files related to Jeffrey Epstein's prosecution within 30 days—meaning by Dec. 19, 2025. Trump signed the bill without a public ceremony, announcing it via social media where he continued calling the effort a hoax designed to distract from his administration's accomplishments.

The House passed the bill 427-1 on Nov. 18, 2025, with only Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) voting against it. The Senate approved it by unanimous consent on Nov. 19. The bill was introduced by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on July 15, 2025, and co-led by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who filed a discharge petition in September that forced the vote after House leadership refused to bring it to the floor.

The discharge petition received 218 signatures on Nov. 12, 2025—the minimum needed to force a floor vote. The petition was signed by 214 Democratic representatives and just four Republican representatives, despite Republican control of the House. Trump had opposed the bill for months, only reversing his position on Nov. 17, 2025, saying we have nothing to hide while continuing to call it a hoax.

The law requires Attorney General Pam Bondi to release all unclassified documents and records in the Justice Department's possession related to Jeffrey Epstein. If documents are classified, Bondi must declassify them to the extent possible. The law permits Bondi to withhold or redact information only if disclosure could jeopardize an ongoing federal investigation. Congress must receive an unredacted list of all government officials and politically exposed persons named in the files.

Trump had asked Attorney General Bondi the week before signing the bill to investigate Epstein's connections to Democrats, including Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, and JPMorgan Chase. In his signing announcement, Trump wrote Perhaps the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will soon be revealed, framing the release as targeting political opponents rather than comprehensive transparency.

The Justice Department previously said in 2019 that it did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties related to Epstein. When asked on Nov. 20 what had changed, Attorney General Bondi claimed new information, additional information but refused to elaborate on what new evidence emerged or why it wasn't shared with previous Justice Department leadership.

The controversy sparked rare Republican disunity, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and other Trump allies publicly supporting the bill despite Trump's opposition. Greene held a news conference on Nov. 18 with Epstein survivors urging file release. Jena-Lisa Jones, an Epstein survivor, directly criticized Trump at the event, saying please stop making this political. Relatives of 🏛️Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein accuser who died by suicide in April 2025, issued a statement after Trump signed the bill.

Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in federal custody in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He was a financier and convicted sex offender with connections to numerous powerful figures in politics, business, and academia. The Justice Department has maintained some files remain sealed due to privacy concerns for victims and ongoing investigations, but the new law requires release of all unclassified materials regardless.