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when is the vote to release the epstein files

There is no upcoming vote scheduled now to “release the Epstein files” because that vote already happened in 2025; what is happening in early 2026 is a fight over enforcing an existing law and forcing full release of the documents.

What actually happened

  • In November 2025, Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act with overwhelming bipartisan support, and President Donald Trump signed it into law on November 19, 2025.
  • The law required the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release all Epstein-related files within 30 days of enactment, setting a legal deadline of December 19, 2025.

So the key vote to “release the Epstein files” is in the past , not a future event.

Where things stand now (January 2026)

  • As of early January 2026, the DOJ has missed the December 19 deadline and has only released a small portion of the records (roughly 12,000+ documents out of millions of potentially relevant files).
  • DOJ officials say they still have over two million documents in various stages of review and redaction and that it may take weeks more to complete the process.

New pressure instead of a new vote

  • Instead of scheduling a new vote, lawmakers like Rep. Thomas Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna have now asked a federal judge to appoint a special master/independent monitor to make sure DOJ actually follows the Transparency Act and releases all the files.
  • Because the law does not include a specific penalty for missing the deadline, the current battle is playing out through court filings, political pressure, and public criticism rather than a simple “yes/no” vote on release.

What to expect going forward

  • More batches of documents are likely to be released over the “next few weeks,” rather than one single dramatic drop tied to a new vote.
  • There may be future hearings or procedural votes in Congress related to oversight or enforcement, but as of now there is no widely reported date for a brand-new, headline “vote to release the Epstein files” since the release mandate is already law.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.