U.S. President Donald Trump attends a dinner with the leaders of the C5+1Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 6, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

CNN’s Arlette Saenz reports that a “broad cross-section of the GOP conference” will support a vote to release the full investigative files relating to convicted sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, according to Republican sources.

“The question now is exactly how many Republicans might get onboard,” said Saenz, reporting that House Speaker Mike Johnson “has shown a significant shift in his strategy” by fast tracking the vote, as opposed to his previous efforts to either slow-walk or block the vote with early House holidays and breaks.

“Initially, supporters of this issue had thought they would have to go through the full legislative procedural timeline and not have a vote until early December. But Johnson, sources say, really changed his strategy when he saw the inevitable, that this would in fact come up for a vote at some point. So, he wants to go ahead and hold it next week,” Saenz said.

Johnson and President Donald Trump had been in lockstep resistance to the vote, but what was once just four Republicans willing to buck the president and approve the discharge vote is now a “cascade of Republican lawmakers who support this bill.

“[Rep. Thomas] Massie (R-Kent.) has told CNN that they are hoping to get a veto proof majority. That means more than two thirds of the House voting in favor of this bill,” said Saenz.

If the vote does pass the House, however, it will face an uncertain fate in the Senate with Majority Leader John Thune previously telling CNN that he didn't think that there needed to be a vote on releasing the files. The Justice Department, he argued, had already released information.

“But if this bill does pass over in the House, that could add pressure to the Senate to go against President Donald Trump and vote in favor of this,” Saenz said.

Meanwhile, Trump has been made aware that this vote is being fast-tracked and “is bracing for impact,” according to CNN.

A senior White House official told CNN that Trump was made aware beforehand that the vote would be happening, and now understands that it is an “inevitable reality.”