Discharge Petition Reaches 218 Signatures, Forcing House Vote on Epstein Files Bill
A bipartisan coalition using a procedural tool that bypasses committee leadership has compelled a floor vote on DOJ document release, testing whether the House will act on transparency legislation...
A discharge petition seeking to force a House floor vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act II reached the required 218 signatures on November 11, 2026, according to statements from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) posted on social media and confirmed by reporting from The Hill and the Washington Examiner.
The final signatures came from Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) and Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA), bringing the total to exactly 218, the constitutional majority of the 435-member House required to trigger the discharge process under House Rule XV.
Massie launched the petition in collaboration with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), a Democrat, making the effort bipartisan from its inception. The legislation would require the Department of Justice to release additional files connected to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who died in federal custody in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. A federal medical examiner ruled his death a suicide; a private examiner hired by Epstein's family disputed that conclusion. The underlying question of which government records remain undisclosed has not been resolved.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act II is the second legislative attempt along these lines. A prior version, referenced in the bill's title, did not advance through regular committee and floor scheduling processes controlled by House leadership.
A discharge petition is a procedural mechanism that allows a majority of House members to bring a bill directly to the floor without approval from the Speaker or the relevant committee chair. Under House rules, once 218 valid signatures are recorded on the official petition, the Speaker is required to schedule the measure. The petition process is relatively rare. According to the House Office of the Historian, fewer than 25 discharge petitions have succeeded in forcing a floor vote since 1931, though the total number filed is substantially higher.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had not, as of the date of this report, publicly committed to scheduling the vote or indicated a timeline. It is unknown whether Johnson will seek to negotiate the bill's terms before a vote proceeds. The Speaker's office had not issued a formal statement in response to the petition's completion as of publication.
The bill's passage through the full House, if a vote occurs, is not guaranteed. Reaching 218 signatures on a discharge petition does not indicate 218 votes in favor of the underlying legislation, as some members may have signed as a procedural expression without committing to a yes vote on final passage. No public whip count has been released by either party.
If the bill passes the House, it would then require Senate action. Senate Majority Leader and Senate Minority Leader positions and their respective postures on companion legislation are unknown, as no Senate companion bill has been publicly identified in available source material.
The DOJ has not publicly stated which Epstein-related records it holds that have not been disclosed, what classification or privilege designations apply to those records, or what the legal basis is for any continued withholding. A full accounting of what documents exist and under what legal authority they are withheld would require either a DOJ disclosure or a successful court-ordered release under the Freedom of Information Act.
What remains unknown: the precise scope of records the bill would compel the DOJ to release, the Senate's legislative calendar and appetite for a companion measure, and whether Speaker Johnson will schedule the vote immediately or allow procedural delays. The official discharge petition signature list, maintained by the Office of the Clerk of the House, is a public document that would confirm the identity and party affiliation of all 218 signatories.