When is the Epstein files vote

US President Donald Trump has called on Republicans in Congress to vote to release more files relating to Jeffrey Epstein, a sudden change in his position after previously opposing efforts to release the documents.

Trump faced a potential rebellion this week after a growing number of Republicans signaled they would vote to release the files despite his opposition.

While the measure is likely to pass the House, it is far from certain that it will pass in the Republican-controlled Senate.

And even if it passes the Senate, it remains unclear when the files might be made public and whether they will satisfy the campaign's ardent supporters.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote Tuesday on a measure that would require the Justice Department to make publicly available “in a searchable and downloadable format” all files related to Epstein within 30 days.

Procedural voting and debate are expected to begin at 10:00 am EST (15:00 GMT) and continue for many hours.

Several of Epstein's victims are also expected to spend the day on Capitol Hill advocating for the bill and holding news conferences with reporters.

In theory, the releases could also include files related to Epstein's jailed co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as people, including government officials, named in the case. This may also include internal Department of Justice documents.

Voting will only take place two days after Trump wrote to Truth Social urging Republicans to vote for the measure.. In his post, he stated that “we have nothing to hide.”

This measure will most likely be adopted. Even before Trump's post, some House Republicans had made clear they were willing to break ranks with the president and House Speaker Mike Johnson to vote yes.

If it passes, its future will remain uncertain in the Senate, which is not required to even take up the measure.

It remains unclear whether Senate Majority Leader John Thune will do so, but the Republican is under enormous pressure from both sides of the US political spectrum.

He previously suggested that while he “doesn't hear” much desire from his fellow Republicans to push for the documents to be released, a successful vote in the House of Representatives could change the situation.

“I just hope John Thune does the right thing,” Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie told ABC News over the weekend.

Another Republican, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, only said on NBC's “Meet the Press” that the Senate would “consider” the bill if it passes the House.

“We’ll see what it says,” Barrasso said. “We all want accountability and transparency. But for me it's not about the truth. It's not about fairness.”

“This is about the Democrats trying to make President Trump a lame duck president,” he added. “And I'm not going to aid and abet them in that.”

Only after the Senate passes the bill will it move to President Trump, who has said he will sign it.

However, there are barriers to publishing files even if he does so.

The document to be submitted to the House of Representatives, for example, notes that the Attorney General can hide or redact portions of records containing personal information, which “constitutes a manifestly unjustified invasion of privacy.”

“Simply disclosing something can expose a lot of private information that is not relevant to public use,” Jonathan Entin, a professor of constitutional law at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, told the BBC.

“There may also be some issues related to law enforcement practices that the Department of Justice may not want to make public,” he added.

The proposed House bill also notes that the Justice Department could withhold any records that “jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution, provided that such withholding is highly specialized and temporary.”

This could potentially lead to delays, given that President Trump said in a post that he would be calling for an investigation into Epstein's alleged ties to prominent Democrats such as Bill Clinton and Larry Summers “to determine what is going on with them and him.”

“This is a potential obstacle,” said Professor Entin. “If this is in fact a serious investigation, it would appear that prosecutors would be reluctant to release all the details while they decide whether to file charges.”

This, he said, “may create some biased publicity about the objectives of the investigation,” which could ultimately lead to tense legal proceedings if any charges are brought.

For those who advocated for the files to be made public, any disclosure other than full disclosure could raise further questions and even outrage.

“I believe the country deserves transparency in these files,” Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican who is now in a public spat with Trump over the files, told CNN on Sunday.

“I have no idea what is in the files. I can’t even guess,” Green added. “But that’s the question everyone asks: Why fight it so hard?”