U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, who serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has joined several Senate Democrats in urging Senate Republican Leader John Thune to bring the Epstein Files Transparency Act to a vote on the Senate floor without delay.
This request follows a strong bipartisan approval of the measure in the U.S. House of Representatives, where it passed with a 427-1 vote.
“The victims of Jeffrey Epstein – and the American people – deserve answers, accountability and the truth. So far, they have only seen empty promises from President Trump and his Administration. Now that a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives has acted to provide transparency on this matter – we call on you to quickly hold a vote in the U.S. Senate to help deliver the accountability that was promised and that so many Americans are demanding,” wrote the Senators.
The senators also stated: “Despite multiple Senate oversight requests and House subpoenas for release of the full and complete Epstein files, DOJ and the FBI have refused to produce any information to the Senate and have failed to provide the complete set of files to the House.”
They continued: “The U.S. Senate has the chance to show strong leadership and swiftly pass this legislation. We urge you to promptly proceed to the consideration of H.R. 185 on the Senate floor pursuant to Senate Rule XIV, so that the legislation can be immediately placed on the Senate Calendar.”
The proposed bipartisan legislation would require that all documents related to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell be released by the Department of Justice, aiming for greater transparency about alleged crimes involving underage girls over more than two decades.
A number of other Democratic senators signed onto this effort alongside Durbin, including Gary Peters, Chuck Schumer, Jeff Merkley, Angela Alsobrooks, Tammy Baldwin, Michael Bennet, Richard Blumenthal, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Cory Booker, Maria Cantwell, Chris Coons, Catherine Cortez Masto, Tammy Duckworth, John Fetterman, Ruben Gallego, Kirsten Gillibrand, Maggie Hassan, Martin Heinrich, John Hickenlooper, Mazie Hirono, Tim Kaine, Mark Kelly, Andy Kim (NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Ben Ray Luján (NM), Ed Markey (MA), Chris Murphy (CT), Patty Murray (WA), Jon Ossoff (GA), Alex Padilla (CA), Jack Reed (RI), Jacky Rosen (NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (HI), Adam Schiff (CA), Jeanne Shaheen (NH), Elissa Slotkin (MI), Tina Smith (MN), Chris Van Hollen (MD), Mark Warner (VA), Raphael Warnock (GA), Elizabeth Warren (MA), Peter Welch (VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) and Ron Wyden (OR).
Earlier in July 2025 Senator Durbin reported that whistleblowers at FBI said staff were told to flag any Epstein records mentioning President Trump. When questioned about this during an oversight hearing Attorney General Bondi declined comment saying: “I’m not going to discuss anything about that with you.”
