Democrats on the House Oversight Committee scored a major win on Wednesday by passing a measure to subpoena the files from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case from the Justice Department.
This came after the sponsor of the resolution, Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), was briefly stymied as Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) shut down an entire hearing rather than let the measure come up.
The vote succeeded due to Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC), Brian Jack (R-GA), and Scott Perry (R-PA) crossing the aisle to vote with Democrats, reported Axios' Andrew Solender.
"We just won a forced subpoena of the Epstein files 8-2 in our @OversightDems subcommittee," posted ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA). "This will force Chairman Comer to issue the subpoena. This is an enormous win by Oversight Democrats."
"DEMOCRATS SUCCESSFULLY SUBPOENAED THE EPSTEIN FILES," wrote the official House Oversight Democrats account on X. "Thanks to @RepRobertGarcia, @RepSummerLee, @RepPressley, @RepLSimon, & @RepWesleyBellMO, Pam Bondi must release the files to Congress. Oversight Dems will keep holding Trump accountable & delivering for the American people."
Democrats then pressed their advantage on the issue, where President Donald Trump has been reeling from a revolt by his own base over the reluctance to release the Epstein files, by going after notable GOP lawmakers who voted against the measure.
"Hmmmm…interesting that @andybiggs4az who’s running to be Governor of Arizona is trying to protect pedophiles from accountability," wrote Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ). "Disgusting."
