Massie's rarely-invoked maneuver to bypass the committee process and compel the House to take up a release of Epstein materials has been on pause during the shutdown — with Speaker Mike Johnson refusing to swear-in new Arizona Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva.
Today we will have the 218th vote for the Epstein discharge petition.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) November 12, 2025
Here’s how the legislation is likely to proceed over the next few weeks, with a debate and floor vote occurring just after the Thanksgiving break.
How will your Congressman vote?https://t.co/lSgSml4SXc
But with that formality now on the agenda Wednesday, Massie says Grijalva's promised signature would push his petition forward.
The Kentucky congressman has acknowledged release of the materials could be damaging to President Donald Trump.
"I think it's going to be embarrassing to some of the billionaires, some of the donors who are politically connected to his campaign," Massie told ABC News prior to the shutdown. "I also think Democrats are going to be implicated in this."
Bringing even more attention back to the Epstein case are newly-revealed emails released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee that suggest Epstein told a journalist Trump "knew about the girls" Epstein was trafficking, according to Politico.
The president has denied any wrongdoing.
If Massie's petition is completed as anticipated, chamber rules would mandate a seven-day wait, after which Johnson will have two legislative days to schedule a vote. That could come in the first week of December.