'We'll dispose of it': Senate GOP shuts down bipartisan effort to release Epstein files

Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaking to reporters on February 11, 2025 (Joshua Sukoff/Shutterstock.com)

A last-minute effort to compel President Donald Trump's administration to release all remaining evidence the Department of Justice (DOJ) has on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein failed in spite of a bipartisan push.

Axios reported Wednesday that an amendment Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) tacked onto the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act narrowly failed to pass on a 51-49 vote. All Democrats and independents who caucus with Democrats voted in favor, while very Republican save for Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) opposed it.

"My position has long been I think we ought to release those files and trust the American people, just like we did with the MLK files and the JFK files," Hawley said after the vote.

Congressional reporter Jamie Dupree observed that Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who is regarded as a swing vote in the U.S. Senate who sometimes bucks her party, voted to table the amendment with other Republicans after talking to Senate GOP leaders.

Semafor reporter Burgess Everett tweeted that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) was "not happy" with Schumer's attempt to force a vote on the Epstein files.

"It's a stunt," Thune said. "We'll dispose of it."

Despite Schumer's amendment failing, a separate effort in the House of Representatives appears to be picking up steam. Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) are co-sponsoring a discharge petition called the "Epstein Files Transparency Act," which will automatically get a full vote on the House floor if they manage to accumulate 218 signatures. In addition to virtually all Democrats, Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) have signed on.

Click here to read Axios' full report.

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