'What a scumbag': House Republican under fire for being lone 'no' vote on Epstein files

The Republican who was the lone "no" vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files to prompt the Department of Justice to release the files was brutally mocked online Tuesday after the vote.

The House of Representatives voted nearly unanimously at 427-1 to push the discharge petition forward to the Senate. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) was the only no vote — and critics delivered sharp responses for the Republican lawmaker on social media:

"F--k Clay Higgins," former Republican strategist Rick Wilson wrote on X.

"Investigate Clay Higgins," a user named Kate, who self-describes as a gamer, wrote on X.

"Apparently Clay Higgins is the sole no vote for releasing the Epstein Files. Imagine wanting protecting pedophiles to be your legacy. What a scumbag," a user named Tony wrote on X.

"This is @RepClayHiggins - he represents #Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District- and is THE ONLY member of the House of Representatives who voted to protect abusers, continue to traumatize survivors of human trafficking and voted AGAINST releasing the #EpsteinFiles. Congressman Higgins is up for re-election in 349 days. Remember his face, remember his name. Remember what he just did. History is watching," writer Nicole Bowman wrote on X.

"Today is a bad day to be Clay Higgins. Almost as bad as January 6th," a user named MM wrote on X.

"All I’m saying is if you have kids, keep them very far away from Rep. Clay Higgins," internet personality Tony Posnanski wrote on X.

"Stay classy, Clay Higgins," director Ben McKenzie wrote on Bluesky.