Senate Republicans on Wednesday narrowly voted to table an amendment that would have required the Justice Department to release all files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) used a procedural maneuver that caught the GOP off guard and left Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) visibly frustrated.
The 51–49 tally underscored internal Republican divisions over whether to force disclosure of the Epstein records, even as calls for transparency grow louder among MAGA-aligned voters, The Hill reported.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a rising conservative figure, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a leading libertarian voice, broke with party leadership by voting against tabling the Epstein amendment.
“This has been my consistent position,” Hawley told reporters after voting. “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. I think this is a similar deal.”
Hawley pointed out that former President Trump recently called on the attorney general to release all non-classified Epstein files. Thune, meanwhile, was forced to allow a Senate vote on the matter — an outcome House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has worked to block in his chamber.
Thune’s only alternative would have been to pull the annual defense authorization bill, a key Republican priority, from the floor, The Hill reported.
Earlier Wednesday, senior GOP senators had expressed confidence they could muster the votes to table Schumer’s amendment directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to release the files.
“We’re going to table it,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said of Schumer’s amendment as he left the weekly chairmen’s meeting on Capitol Hill.
Several Republican lawmakers initially signaled they were undecided, citing the need for greater “transparency” surrounding Epstein’s crimes.
“We’ll see how it goes. We need to have a discussion about it but I think transparency is always good,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), an Armed Services Committee member who is retiring next year, told The Hill.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he would have supported Schumer’s amendment if it stood a realistic chance of becoming law but noted GOP leaders were almost certain to remove it before the bill’s final passage.
“If there was an amendment on the floor that would have the force of law, I’d vote for it in a heartbeat,” he said.
The dispute over the Epstein files now threatens to complicate negotiations on other amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act.
Thune appeared frustrated Wednesday after Schumer unexpectedly introduced his proposal directing the Justice Department to release all Epstein-related records, The Hill noted.
“It’s a political stunt and we’ll dispose of it,” the Senate Majority Leader told reporters.
Schumer argued the vote would reveal whether Republicans are serious about making Epstein-related records public, including documents that could implicate other powerful figures tied to the sexual abuse of minors.
“If Republicans vote no, they’ll be saying to the American people you should not see the Epstein files. I ask my Republican colleagues, after all those years you spent calling for accountability, for transparency, for getting to the bottom of these awful crimes, why won’t you vote yes?” Schumer said on the floor.
Notably, Schumer didn’t mention Epstein or the need for more “transparency” during the Biden years or when he was the Senate majority leader, nor did any other Democrat.
The GOP leader had been negotiating amendment votes on the must-pass defense bill when Schumer bypassed the process and introduced his amendment, briefly seizing control of the Senate floor.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) openly questioned why GOP leaders allowed a spot on the legislative “tree” to remain open so that Schumer could file his amendment.
“I don’t know why we didn’t have the tree filled. You can fill the tree and always unfill it later,” he told The Hill. “I don’t know why we left the spot open on the tree. But we did and Schumer jumped on it like wet on water.”