One of the key questions Democrats posed to the Trump administration and Republicans in this month’s midterm elections was how to handle the investigation into convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
US President Donald Trump had promised to release a trove of files on Epstein collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other federal agencies during his 2024 presidential campaign.
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But after taking office, Trump administration officials were accused of obstructing efforts to bring transparency to the issue, and Trump himself publicly criticized a handful of Republicans who sided with Democrats in trying to force the declassification of what federal investigators had uncovered over the years. Some of these lawmakers lost their seats after President Trump withdrew his support and supported the primary opposition party.
Democrats, who will take control of both houses of Congress in January, say they intend to use their legislative authority to confront the Trump administration regarding Epstein. As the majority party, Democrats can appoint lawmakers to lead key committees with the power to issue subpoenas to officials and hold public hearings where they are asked to answer questions under oath about their handling of files.
President Trump could still use his veto power to override any legislation that Democrats might pass, such as requiring the administration to disclose more information, but the committees they control would wield significant investigative powers not previously wielded by Republicans.
On Tuesday, the now Republican-led House Oversight Committee released the results (PDF) of a 15-month investigation into the federal government’s role in the Epstein investigation. The committee called for specific steps the Justice Department should take, including interviewing and re-interviewing key witnesses and further investigating Epstein’s network of associates.
The committee stopped short of calling for an investigation into Trump’s ties to Epstein, as sought by Democratic lawmakers. Instead, the current committee report said Democrats over the remains are “obsessed with trying to implicate President Trump” and engaging in a “baseless witch hunt.” “We were unable to identify any documents that appear to implicate President Trump in any criminal activity related to Mr. Epstein and Mr. Maxwell,” the Republican-led group said in a statement.
Incoming Democratic senators who will chair the House Oversight Committee and the Senate Finance Committee have already said they intend to use their powers to press the Trump administration for more answers.
What have parliamentarians done so far?
In November 2025, lawmakers passed the Epstein File Transparency Act in a particularly bipartisan manner. Only one member of the House of Representatives voted against the legislation, and no one in the Senate voted against it.
The law required the Justice Department to release “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” related to the Epstein investigation and the prosecution of sex offenders. These documents also had to be made available in a “searchable and downloadable format.”
Millions of documents were ultimately released, many of them heavily redacted, and lawmakers who had access to the unredacted versions said some of that information should have been made public and that many more files were in the possession of the Trump administration.
Democratic members of some committees were already involved in some way in the Epstein investigation, and some, even minority members, were at least able to issue reports calling for further investigation.
Which House committee will lead further investigation?
In October, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee released a 53-page report (PDF) specifically examining the relationship between Trump and Epstein. President Trump has denied having any serious contact with Epstein and said he was not involved in the convicted sex trafficker’s activities.
Democrats say the report is based on public information and interviews with women who say they were abused by Epstein and Trump. According to the report, five women have accused Trump of “rape or sexual assault in Mr. Epstein’s company or presence.”
Mr. Trump denied these allegations.
The report also alleges that the FBI was told by a witness that Trump was introduced to his wife, Melania Trump, by Epstein and that the president was involved in Epstein’s sex trafficking network. The suit also alleges that Attorney General Todd Blanche instructed Epstein’s colleague Ghislaine Maxwell not to talk about the sex trafficker’s relationship with President Trump. Blanche denied doing so.
Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, who is expected to become chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said he would pursue Blanche and other officials as part of the investigation. The commission acts as a watchdog and has a broad mandate to investigate the activities of federal agencies, including the Department of Justice.
Garcia said this week on the US television network MS NOW that he would use his subpoena powers to force Branch to answer questions. “He doesn’t want to answer questions because he’s scared. Because he knows he’s involved in leading the White House cover-up related to the Epstein file,” Garcia said.
On Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee, now led by Republicans, called on federal authorities to review whether banks were not adequately addressing suspicious transactions involving Mr. Epstein.
What are Senate Democrats going to do?
One committee likely to take action in the Senate is the Finance Committee, whose chairman, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, said he plans to follow up on the findings of his report on the Epstein scandal.
In August, Mr. Wyden’s office released a 67-page report (PDF) on how major U.S. banks and the U.S. Treasury Department failed to respond to suspicious transactions by Mr. Epstein and his associates, who moved money around the world as part of a human trafficking network.
“Wall Street banks enabled Epstein’s activities for years. By failing or choosing not to report Epstein’s suspicious financial transactions to federal law enforcement, these banks allowed Epstein to make cash payments and wire transfers to his victims, friends, and associates around the world,” the report said.
Wyden’s report said major banks including JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank and Bank of America moved more than $1 billion over the years for Epstein and his network in thousands of transactions that should be reported as possible criminal activity.
“I have a list of Wall Street bankers, but I need to answer the question of why I turned a blind eye while Epstein and his cronies transferred millions of dollars to their institutions to facilitate the sex trafficking of women and girls,” Wyden said in a statement last week. “As chair of the Finance Committee, all avenues will be considered to get answers.”
