Top GOP and White House allies working behind the scenes to prevent Epstein vote on House floor

Demonstrators march toward the White House during an anti-Trump protest organized by FLARE USA in Washington, DC, on September 2, 2025. Mehmet Eser/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images

Top congressional Republicans and White House allies are working behind the scenes to prevent a politically charged floor vote to release the government’s Jeffrey Epstein case files next month, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.

The intensifying effort to halt that floor vote comes as Reps. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, declared on Wednesday they have the 218 votes needed to compel one when Congress returns. That final signature on their petition to force the vote will come from Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election