When is the Epstein files vote

US President Donald Trump has urged congressional Republicans to vote to release more records relating to Jeffrey Epstein – a sudden reversal of his position after previously opposing efforts to make the documents public.

Trump faced a potential revolt this week after a growing number of Republicans indicated they would vote to release the records despite his opposition.

Although the measure is likely to pass the House of Representatives, it is far from certain that it will pass the Senate, controlled by the Republicans.

And even if the bill were to pass the Senate, it remains unclear when the records might be made public and whether they would satisfy ardent activists.

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on a measure that would require the Justice Department to make public “in a searchable and downloadable format” all files relating to Epstein within 30 days.

Procedural votes and debates are expected to begin at 10:00 a.m. EST (15:00 GMT) and continue for several hours.

Several of Epstein’s victims are also expected to spend the day at the Capitol, advocating for the bill’s passage and holding news conferences with reporters.

The releases could, in theory, also include files relating to imprisoned Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as people – including government officials – mentioned in the case. It could also include internal Justice Department documents.

The vote will take place just two days after Trump wrote on Truth Social to encourage Republicans to vote for the measure. In his message, he asserted that “we have nothing to hide.”

The measure is likely to be adopted. Even before Trump took office, some House Republicans had made clear they were willing to break ranks with the president and House Speaker Mike Johnson to vote in favor.

If it passes, its future remains uncertain in the Senate, which is not even required to take up the measure.

It remains unclear whether Senate Majority Leader John Thune will do so, but the Republican is under enormous pressure from both sides of the American political spectrum.

He previously suggested that while he was hearing “not” much desire from his fellow Republicans to push for the release of the documents, a successful vote in the House could be a game-changer.

“I just hope John Thune does the right thing,” Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie told ABC News over the weekend.

Another Republican, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” only that the Senate would “consider” the bill if it passed the House.

“We’ll see what that says,” Barrasso said. “We all want accountability and transparency. But for me, it’s not about truth. It’s not about justice.”

“This is an attempt by Democrats to make President Trump a lame-duck president,” he added. “And I’m not going to aid and abet them in their efforts to do that.”

Only after the Senate passes the bill will it be sent to President Trump, who has said he will sign it.

There are, however, barriers to releasing the files even if he does.

The text of the document to be submitted to the House, for example, indicates that the Attorney General could withhold or redact portions of records containing personal information, which “would constitute a manifestly unjustified invasion of privacy.”

“Just disclosing anything could reveal a lot of private information that is not relevant or appropriate for public consumption,” Jonathan Entin, a constitutional law professor at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, told the BBC.

“There may also be issues regarding law enforcement techniques that the Justice Department may not want to make public,” he added.

The proposed bill also says the Justice Department can withhold any document that “endangers an active federal investigation or pending prosecution, provided that such withholding is narrowly tailored and temporary.”

This could potentially lead to delays, given that President Trump said in his message that he would request an investigation into Epstein’s alleged ties to prominent Democrats, such as Bill Clinton and Larry Summers, “to determine what was going on between them and with him.”

“This is a potential obstacle,” Professor Entin said. “If, in fact, this is a serious investigation, presumably prosecutors will not want everything out in the open while they figure out whether or not they will bring charges.”

That, he added, “could create some damaging publicity about the targets of the investigation,” which could ultimately lead to intense litigation if indictments were filed.

For those who campaigned for the release of the records, anything less than full disclosure is likely to spark further questions and even outrage.

“I think the country deserves transparency on these issues,” Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican currently in public conflict with Trump over the issues, told CNN on Sunday.

“I have no idea what’s in the files. I can’t even guess,” Greene added. “But that’s the question everyone is asking: why fight so hard?”