Epstein Files Act II Hits 218 Signatures, Forcing a House Vote

By Sarah Collins | November 13, 2026

WASHINGTON — Representative Thomas Massie announced on Wednesday, November 11, that his discharge petition for the Epstein Files Transparency Act II had reached 218 signatures, the number needed to force a House vote. Representative John Garamendi, a California Democrat, supplied the decisive 218th signature, according to House clerk records. All 214 House Democrats signed the petition, along with four Republicans: Massie, Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman of South Carolina, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. The milestone guarantees the bill a House floor vote.

## What the Second Bill Would Do

The bill, formally known as H.R. 9694, would add enforcement tools that the first Epstein files law did not provide. It would let Epstein survivors, state attorneys general, district attorneys and members of Congress sue the attorney general for withholding, redacting, delaying or failing to publish Epstein-related records. It would also give victims access to full, unredacted records about themselves, including FBI interview reports. Massie introduced the bill on July 15 with Democratic Representatives Ro Khanna and Teresa Leger Fernandez, and Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley and Ben Ray Lujan are leading the Senate version.

The push for a second bill follows frustration over how the Justice Department has handled the first law. The original Epstein Files Transparency Act passed the House 427-1 in November 2025 after an earlier Massie discharge petition forced that vote, and President Donald Trump signed it on November 19, 2025, as Public Law 119-38. The law required the department to disclose its Epstein-related records, and it released its first batch on December 19, 2025. But Massie and his allies say the department has flagrantly and consistently ignored the law's disclosure requirements, withholding and redacting records it was ordered to release. The new bill is designed to give courts, states and survivors a way to enforce the law when the department does not comply.

## The Road to 218

Reaching the threshold took months. The petition was filed on August 31, and the count sat at 216 signatures from mid-September until this week, because members may sign only while the House is in session. Representative Adam Smith of Washington signed on Tuesday, November 10, as the 217th member, and Garamendi followed a day later. Massie had predicted the petition would reach 218 once the House returned after the midterm elections. Notably, Representative Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican who backed last year's petition, did not sign this one. Massie is leaving Congress in less than two months.

Discharge petitions were once rare, but this is the eighth to reach 218 signatures in the 119th Congress. The first Epstein files law reached the floor the same way almost a year ago, when a discharge petition led by Massie and Khanna forced a vote leadership had blocked.

## What Happens Next

Reaching 218 signatures does not put the bill on the floor the same day. Under House rules, the motion must sit on the Discharge Calendar for seven legislative days, after which a signer must move to bring it to the floor, and the Speaker then has two legislative days to act. Given the Thanksgiving recess, the earliest floor action is expected on December 2 or 3, according to ABC News. The House would then vote on discharging the Rules Committee, on the procedural resolution, and only then on the bill itself. Passage is not guaranteed, and Senate Republican leaders could still decline to consider it before the new Congress takes office in January. For survivors and their supporters, however, the 218th signature means the bill can no longer be buried — it will get a vote.

Sources: Reuters (via TRT World), Axios (via Mezha), Clash Report, Unbiased Headlines, ABC News