The upper chamber of Congress on this Tuesday gave swift approval to legislation that will force the release of official records associated with the deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, after a near-unanimous vote in the US House of Representatives and a reversal by the president and his GOP allies. Trump's team gave in after months of trying to forestall the bipartisan effort involving a case that has followed the president since his return to the White House.
Swift Approval in Both Chambers
Senators proceeded by unanimous consent, which needs acceptance from each senator but avoids a individual voting process, accelerating the process. Hours earlier, the House overwhelmingly approved the bill on a near-unanimous vote.
“The American people have been patient long enough. Those affected have waited patiently,” Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech on Tuesday, before asking the Senate to approve it without opposition. “Reveal the truth. Let transparency reign.”
Future Action
The measure next goes to Trump for his signature. The president signaled on Monday that he would endorse the legislation.
Even though Trump has for an extended period downplayed the outcry over the government’s handling of the investigation as a “Democrat hoax”, he expressed his backing for the legislation over the past few days, and said he would sign the measure if it reaches his desk.
Response
Democrats, along with those affected and their representatives who were watching from a public section, applauded after the bill was approved. Lone dissent came from Clay Higgins, who stated he feared the measure would reveal identifying details of witnesses, persons of interest and others involved in the investigation.
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