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The reopening of the government is coinciding with the reignition of the controversy around late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his ties to President Donald Trump.
Throughout the shutdown, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson refused to swear in Adelita Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat who won a special election to succeed her late father in Congress. Grijalva was expected to provide the last signature needed on a discharge petition to force a vote on the release of classified documents related to Epstein and his partner, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
Johnson repeatedly denied that the delay in swearing Grijalva in had anything to do with Epstein, but many Republican congressmembers have been reluctant to have to choose between the President, who has made clear he wants the scrutiny to go away, and segments of their base that have for years demanded transparency and ginned up conspiracy theories about Epstein and his influential associates.
After Johnson swore in Grijalva on Wednesday, when the House returned to session to pass the funding bill to end the shutdown, Grijalva gave the discharge petition its 218th signature to force a floor vote, which Johnson said will occur next week.
Still, the discharge petition would not have passed were it not for four Republicans who added to the Democrats’ 214 votes. But the question remains: will those four remain steadfast or even convince others in their caucus to join them, or will they succumb to party and presidential pressure to vote against the ultimate release of the files?
Here’s what to know about the four Republicans who voted in favor of the discharge petition.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R, Ky.)
Leading the charge with Democrats is Thomas Massie, a legislator representing Kentucky and a frequent intraparty critic of the President. Earlier this year, Trump had said he would back efforts to defeat Massie in his reelection primary next year.
In July, Massie, along with Rep. Ro Khanna (D, Calif.), introduced legislation that would require the Justice Department to release Epstein-related files within 30 days. Then, in September, Massie filed a discharge petition for the legislation, as Johnson opted instead to back a Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee probe into the files—a move widely viewed as symbolic and likely toothless, as the panel could choose not to take any action on the files on the House floor.
By Sept. 3, Massie’s discharge petition amassed 214 signatures, including three other Republicans, whom Massie thanked for signing. “I’m 99% certain we’ll get 218. At that point [Johnson] may try to change the rules of the House, but chair of Rules Committee says she won’t!” Massie posted on X that day.
By Sept. 10, Massie’s discharge petition only needed one more signature, which would come with Grijalva.
That month, Massie told ABC News that those who might be in the Epstein files—regardless of stature—should be held accountable. Massie said that he believes Trump was holding off on releasing the files because “it’s going to be embarrassing to some of the billionaires, some of the donors who are politically connected to his campaign.” Though, he added that some Democratic donors might similarly be affected.
The Kentucky representative also previously said that the issue surrounding Epstein is “not going to go away.”.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R, Colo.)
Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, a staunch Trump ally, was one of the first people to call for an independent probe into the Administration’s handling of the Epstein files, after the Justice Department announced in July that the Epstein case was effectively closed. “People are frustrated,” she told News Nation that month. “We want to know if there’s more information.”
Boebert signed Massie’s discharge petition on Sept. 2. In an apparent last-minute bid to block Massie’s petition, Trump Administration officials met with Boebert on Wednesday in the White House Situation Room, which Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters reflected the Administration’s commitment to “transparency” on the files.
“I want to thank White House officials for meeting with me today,” Boebert posted on X Wednesday. “Together, we remain committed to ensuring transparency for the American people.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R, Ga.)
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a once MAGA diehard who has increasingly broken with the GOP, has called for more transparency in the Epstein files release. In July, Greene said that she will sign Massie’s discharge petition, posting on X that she “will never protect pedophiles or the elites and their circles.”
In an early September press conference at the Capitol, Greene said that the release of the Epstein files was “not about politics” and instead a “boiling point in American history.” Greene also promised to mention “every damn name” of Epstein’s purported high-powered clients in his underage sex trafficking operation. In the press conference, Greene also urged her fellow Republicans “not to choose just one path for justice and transparency and accountability” but “to choose every path for justice and accountability and transparency.”
Greene also said that she pushed back against a White House threat that backing the bill ordering the release of the Epstein files would be seen as a “very hostile act.” Speaking to the New York Times, she recounted: “I told them, ‘You didn’t get me elected. I do not work for you; I work for my district.’”
In a post on X after the 218th signature for the petition was secured, Greene said that she “honestly believe[s] it’s not only the right thing to do for the victims but it’s also the right thing to do for the country. Americans deserve transparency.”
“Next week when everyone is forced to go on record to vote to release the Epstein files, I expect the number of Republicans to be a lot higher that actually vote yes,” Greene added. “But remember the original 4.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R, S.C.)
Rep. Nancy Mace, who is also running for governor in South Carolina, signed the discharge petition in apparent solidarity with sexual abuse and assault survivors. Mace has spoken publicly about her own experiences with abuse and called the discharge petition on Wednesday in a post on X “deeply personal.”
“I’ve always been an advocate for women and children,” Mace posted on X in July. “The Jeffrey Epstein case is no different. I want to see arrests. I want to see any one who raped underage girls in handcuffs and behind bars. No more passes for predators.”
Despite Trump’s ties to Epstein, however, Mace continues to identify herself as a strong supporter of the President. She and Trump reportedly missed out on each other’s calls in the lead-up to the final discharge petition signature being secured, as rumors circulated online that Mace might remove her signature from the petition, though she ultimately did not.
“I will NEVER abandon other survivors,” she posted on X.
The post The 4 Republicans Who Joined Democrats to Force a House Vote on Releasing Epstein Files appeared first on TIME.
