House Passes Bill with 427 Votes in Favor, 1 Against
NYT: "Trump's Grip on the Party Weakens"
On November 18 (local time), the United States House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill mandating the full release of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who has long been suspected of having ties to President Donald Trump. Following the recent defeat in local elections, some analysts suggest that this is a sign of a 'lame duck' period, with President Trump's influence waning even within the ruling Republican Party.
According to local media such as The New York Times and Bloomberg News, the House approved the bill in a plenary session with 427 votes in favor and 1 against-a result that was virtually unanimous. The sole dissenting vote came from Representative Clay Higgins, a four-term Republican from Louisiana.
The bill now moves to the Senate, where it is also expected to pass smoothly. If both the House and Senate approve the bill, the Department of Justice will be required to release the Epstein-related documents following President Trump's final signature. President Trump has already expressed his intention to sign the bill.
Initially, President Trump opposed the bill's passage, but the mood shifted as some Republican lawmakers broke ranks. In the preliminary process to bring the bill to the floor, 214 Democratic members and 4 Republican members participated, securing a majority and enabling the bill to be introduced. As the bill's passage became likely, President Trump abruptly changed his stance, urging Republican lawmakers to support the bill on November 19.
Epstein, a billionaire hedge fund manager from New York, pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges of sexually exploiting minors and died by suicide in prison in 2019. Documents detailing his social network and personal life include the names of several prominent figures, and President Trump was among those named. President Trump has consistently claimed that he was not involved in Epstein's crimes.
With the Epstein documents bill passing the House with near-unanimous support, there are growing predictions that internal divisions within President Trump's core 'MAGA (Make America Great Again)' base will become even more pronounced. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican congresswoman from Georgia and a prominent Trump ally who faced accusations of being a 'traitor' over her stance on the document release, held a press conference at the Capitol with victims on this day. She stated, "Watching this issue actually turn into conflict, MAGA has shattered," and added, "I will say right now, this issue has been the most destructive to MAGA."
The New York Times commented on the House vote, stating, "The Epstein case and President Trump’s response to it have revealed how political alliances within the Republican Party are fracturing," and added, "It signals that Trump’s iron grip on the party is weakening." The report continued, "Despite fierce opposition from Trump and the Republican leadership, Democrats succeeded in bringing the bill to the House floor by cooperating with a small number of Republican defectors."
Meanwhile, at the White House on the same day, President Trump criticized an ABC reporter who asked why the Epstein documents were not being released, calling the reporter's 'attitude' terrible and saying, "You are a horrible reporter." He continued, "You need to go back and learn how to be a reporter. Do not ask any more questions," and further argued that ABC's press credentials should be revoked.
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