The Senate on Tuesday quickly approved to a measure that will mandate the disclosure of investigative files associated with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, after a near-unanimous vote in the House of Representatives and a shift by Donald Trump and his GOP allies. Trump's team gave in after months of trying to delay the bipartisan effort involving a scandal that has plagued the president since his return to the White House.
Swift Approval in Congress
The Senate acted by general agreement, which requires approval from each senator but avoids a recorded vote, speeding up the process. Earlier that day, the House overwhelmingly approved the bill on a massive majority.
“The American people have been patient long enough. Those affected have suffered long enough,” the top Senate Democrat said in a Senate remarks on Tuesday, before urging the chamber to adopt it by consent. “Reveal the truth. Allow openness to prevail.”
Future Action
The measure next will be sent to the president for his signature. He indicated on the previous day that he would approve the bill.
Though Trump has for an extended period dismissed the outcry over the authorities' approach of the investigation as a “false narrative”, he voiced approval for the House bill over the weekend, and announced he would approve it if it comes to him.
Reaction
Democrats, along with those affected and their supporters who were seated in a House gallery, broke into applause after the bill was enacted. Lone dissent came from a GOP representative, who stated he was concerned the measure would disclose specific data of witnesses, those under scrutiny and others caught up in the investigation.
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