First posted on Instagram
Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky said on Thursday that he expects to secure the 218 signatures needed on a discharge petition next week, when the House returns from its recess, forcing a floor vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act II.
Massie, a Republican, announced the push in a post on X, writing: "When we return next week, we'll get 218 signatures for Epstein Files Transparency Act II, which guarantees a vote." The House is scheduled to return to session at noon on Monday, November 9, after a recess of more than six weeks.
The petition currently stands at 216 signatures — two short of the 218 needed. Massie said two Democrats who were ill have pledged to sign when the House returns. The petition, Discharge Petition No. 27, was filed by Massie on August 31 to pull the bill's rule, H.Res. 1430, out of the Rules Committee and onto the floor.
Of the 216 signatures collected so far, 212 are Democrats and four are Republicans: Massie himself, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. The last signature was added on September 16, the day before the House left for its recess, and none have been added since because members can only sign while the House is in session.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act II, H.R. 9694, was introduced in July by Massie and Democratic Representatives Ro Khanna of California and Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico. It is designed to strengthen enforcement of the first Epstein transparency law, which Massie says the Justice Department has not fully followed. The bill would allow survivors, state attorneys general, local prosecutors and members of Congress to sue the attorney general over records unlawfully withheld, redacted or never produced, and would require the attorney general to provide certain unredacted documents to victims on request. Massie says more than three million Epstein files are still being withheld.
The first Epstein Files Transparency Act was forced to the floor by the same route last year. Massie filed a discharge petition in September 2025, reached 218 signatures in November, and the House passed the bill 427 to 1 on November 18, 2025. The Senate agreed unanimously and President Trump signed it into law on November 19. The Justice Department has since released about 3.5 million pages of Epstein records, but the release has drawn criticism over redactions and allegations that files were withheld.
Khanna, Massie's Democratic partner on the bill, said in a video posted on Thursday: "Thomas Massie and I have defied history for a second time. ... We will not rest until the Epstein abusers are held accountable and there is justice." The two men first joined forces on the original bill in July 2025.
Even if the petition reaches 218 signatures next week, a vote would not follow immediately. Under House rules, the motion must sit on the Discharge Calendar for seven legislative days before it can be called up, putting the earliest realistic vote in late November or the first week of December. Massie, who lost his Republican primary in May to a Trump-endorsed challenger, leaves Congress in January.