Lone Republican Opposes Epstein File Release in Rare Bipartisan Vote

Wed Nov 19 2025 14:27:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a historic move, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill to publish documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein, with only one dissenting vote from Republican Clay Higgins, who raised concerns over victim privacy.

The House of Representatives voted 427-1 in favor of a bill to release documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, marking a rare instance of bipartisanship. Republican Clay Higgins stood alone in opposition, citing potential harm to innocent victims as his reason for voting no. Higgins expressed his principle concerns on social media and highlighted the bill's neglect of established criminal justice procedures. The Senate also approved the legislation shortly after the House vote, paving the way for President Trump's signature.

Nearly every Republican in the US House of Representatives voted on a bill to compel the release of documents tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The lone nay came from the Republican lawmaker from Louisiana, Clay Higgins, who defied his party saying his vote was a principled NO.

What was wrong with the bill three months ago is still wrong today, Higgins wrote on X. It abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure in America.

The resounding vote in favour of the Epstein bill, 427-1, marks a rare moment of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill. Hours later, the US Senate also approved the legislation, clearing the way for the final act - President Donald Trump's signature.

For Higgins, safeguarding the personal information of Epstein's many victims was the primary issue with the legislation.

As written, this bill reveals and injures thousands of innocent people – witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc, he wrote on X. If enacted in its current form, this type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt.

Higgins said he would support the bill if it were to be amended by the Senate, which Republican majority leader John Thune had already suggested was unlikely.

Prior to the House passing the legislation, only four Republicans had joined all Democrats in signing a petition to force a vote - Thomas Massie, Lauren Boebert, Nancy Mace, and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

But it achieved overwhelming Republican support after President Trump dropped his opposition to a vote.

Higgins has represented Louisiana's third district since 2017 and is widely regarded as one of the most conservative members of Congress, according to his website.

His holdout vote in the wake of 200-plus members of his party voting otherwise is not the first time he has taken an unorthodox stance.

In 2024, House Republicans voted to censure Higgins for offensive remarks he made on social media after he called Haiti the nastiest country in the western hemisphere and referred to Haitians as eating pets and slapstick gangsters.

Before Congress, Higgins was a member of Louisiana's St Landry's Parish Sheriff's Office. He resigned in 2016 amid backlash about a controversial anti-crime video where he was seen holding a rifle and making threats against gang members.

The BBC has contacted Higgins's office for comment.