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Massie’s Epstein Files Transparency Act II Petition Reaches 218 Signatures, Forcing House Vote
By Eleanor Ever Loyal
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Rep. Thomas Massie’s discharge petition for a second Epstein files transparency bill reached the required 218 signatures Wednesday, November 11, setting in motion a process that will force the House to consider the legislation during the post-election lame-duck session.
The petition, Discharge Petition No. 27, was filed by Massie on August 31, 2026, on H.Res. 1430, seeking to bring H.R. 9694, the Epstein Files Transparency Act II, to the House floor. The 218th signature was reported Wednesday by The Hill and Axios.
The petition had remained at 216 signatures since September 16, according to the House Clerk’s list. At that point, it had support from 212 Democrats and four Republicans: Massie, Reps. Nancy Mace, Ralph Norman and Brian Fitzpatrick. Wednesday’s reporting said every Democrat had signed, along with the four Republicans. The identities of the final two signers had not been confirmed in the available reporting and are not named here.
Under House procedure, reaching 218 signatures places the motion on the Discharge Calendar. Seven legislative days must pass before a signer can call it up for consideration. That timetable puts the anticipated floor vote in the lame-duck session, before the next Congress takes over January 3.
H.R. 9694 was introduced July 15 by Massie, Rep. Ro Khanna and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández. A Senate version is being led by Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ben Ray Luján.
The legislation would allow state attorneys general and other state officers, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, and members of Congress to sue the attorney general over Epstein-related records that are withheld or redacted. It would also allow survivors to obtain records concerning themselves and provide state prosecutors with assistance in pursuing investigations.
The second measure follows enactment of the first Epstein Files Transparency Act, which reached the House through a similar discharge-petition effort. Massie’s first petition reached 218 signatures on November 12, 2025. The House passed the bill 427–1 on November 18, and it was signed into law the following day.
The Justice Department’s first release of records, on December 19, 2025, did not include all files by the law’s deadline. On January 30, 2026, the department said it had published more than three million additional pages.
The scope of the department’s compliance remains disputed. Massie says the department has withheld more than three million Epstein-related files. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has said the department complied with the 2025 law.
No public response from Speaker Mike Johnson to the second bill had been located as of earlier this week.
Massie is an outgoing member of Congress after losing his primary to a Trump-backed challenger. The petition reached the required threshold one day after the House voted to refer Massie’s articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to committee.
The 218 signatures require the House to take up the discharge motion under its rules, but they do not themselves enact the bill. The next step is a floor vote after the required seven legislative days.
— Eleanor Ever Loyal, National Desk
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Eleanor Ever Loyal covers Congress, national politics and federal accountability for The Library Media National Desk.