As U.S. Representatives travel back to D.C. after several weeks off, the ongoing controversy over Jeffrey Epstein is already front and center on the political stage.

House Democrats on Nov. 12 released emails apparently from the late sex offender saying President Donald Trump "knew about the girls" and spent hours with a victim. Trump called it a hoax and a distraction from the government shutdown, and the White House said he did nothing wrong.

Epstein and Trump were friends back in the 1990s before their falling out. Epstein was prosecuted in 2006 for soliciting prostitution and, later, alleged sex trafficking.

Their relationship and questions over Epstein's criminal case files plagued the Trump administration for weeks earlier this summer, but that controversy has taken a back seat as the government shutdown became the longest in American history.

Even before the email revelations on Wednesday, Epstein was likely to move back to the forefront when the House returned to session. Here is where the legislative push to release the files left off before the shutdown and what's next:

Petition to force vote on releasing Epstein files missing one signature

Controversy over the Epstein case and files prompted a rare moment of discord among Republicans. Some Republican lawmakers broke rank in trying to pass the “Epstein Files Transparency Act,” using a rarely successful maneuver known as a discharge petition.

The discharge motion forces a vote on a bill that would typically have to go through a committee and be selected for a floor vote by House leadership. It is meant to be difficult, so a majority of Representatives, or 218 in total, need to sign a petition to force the vote.

That requires some Republicans to get on board, even as Republican leaders have spoken against the measure.

Who has signed the petition?

All 213 Democrats in office had signed the petition, as well as these Republicans:

  • Thomas Massie, Kentucky
  • Nancy Mace, South Carolina
  • Lauren Boebert, Colorado
  • Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia

Trump has reportedly tried to meet with Boebert in recent days, and he discouraged Republicans from "falling into that trap," in a Truth Social post after the Epstein emails were published.

Democratic lawmaker sworn in weeks after special election

The person who became number 218 on the list late in the day on Nov. 12 had been waiting to sign her name for seven weeks.

Democrat from Arizona Adelita Grijalva won a special election for a seat in Congress on Sept. 23, but Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said he would wait for the government shutdown, which began Oct. 1, to end before swearing her in.

"Why is Speaker Johnson taking the unprecedented step of refusing to swear me in? The only notable difference between me and others elected during special elections in 2025 who were promptly sworn in is that I would be the decisive 218th signature on a discharge petition to force a vote on releasing all files related to Jeffrey Epstein, a onetime friend of President Donald Trump," Grijalva wrote in a USA TODAY Op-ed on Nov. 6.

She was sworn in shortly after 4 p.m. ET Nov. 12, the day the House is expected to vote on a package to reopen the government, and signed the petition shortly after.

House bill on Epstein files would still need to clear Senate

With 218 signatures and a seven-legislative-day waiting period, the Epstein Files Transparency Act will eventually head to the floor for a vote. The Republican co-sponsor of the bill, Massie, said he is certain the House vote will succeed with more Republican support than the petition, according to Politico.

The bill would also need to be passed by the Senate and signed by the president in order to go into effect. NBC News reported this is unlikely, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune has told CNN he doesn't think the legislation is necessary.

The bill states that within 30 days, the Attorney General would have to make publicly available all the documents it has on the investigation into Epstein.

Contributing: Amanda Luberto, Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY Network

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X (Twitter), Bluesky and TikTok.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House returning could revive push for Epstein files. What happened before government shutdown?

Reporting by Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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