The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives will vote on Tuesday on whether to force the release of investigative files tied to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a move expected to win easy passage after President Donald Trump unexpectedly abandoned his long opposition.

Trump’s reversal late Sunday followed a surge of support for a House petition demanding a vote, a rare moment in which Republicans confronted the president directly and signaled they were prepared to move forward without him.

Until the weekend, Trump and his aides had pressed GOP lawmakers to prevent any further release of files from the Justice Department’s criminal investigation of Epstein, the wealthy New York financier who had once counted Trump as a social acquaintance. The shift represented the collapse of that resistance.

“House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,” Trump wrote Sunday night on social media, describing the matter as a “hoax” promoted by Democrats, despite the authenticity of the federal documents at issue.

Democratic lawmakers, joined by several Republicans, say there is nothing fabricated about Justice Department records. Epstein was convicted on state and federal charges linked to his sexual abuse and trafficking of teenage girls. He died by suicide in a Manhattan federal jail in 2019, weeks after he was arrested on new federal counts of child sex trafficking.

California Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Trump had tried and failed to halt the House’s inquiry into the Epstein files. Garcia argued the president reversed course only because “he’s panicking and has realized he is about to lose this Epstein vote.”

Trump reverses position

A senior White House official said Trump’s decision came after he grew frustrated with Republicans’ fixation on the Epstein files and wanted them to focus on inflation, the cost of living and other issues that poll higher with voters. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he believes releasing the files will help put to rest allegations that Trump was linked to Epstein’s crimes. Johnson told reporters the vote would take place Tuesday afternoon.

“He’s never had anything to hide,” Johnson said Monday. “He and I shared the same concern, which is making sure the victims of these heinous crimes are fully protected from exposure.”

Backers of the files’ release say they agree and that the resolution includes explicit instructions allowing the Justice Department to redact identifying details of victims.

Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican leading the release effort, said the House is likely to use a process requiring a two-thirds majority, but he expects the resolution to pass, possibly with no opposition.

If the Senate approves the measure, Massie said he fears the Justice Department could still delay releasing the material by citing exemptions tied to an ongoing investigation. Trump recently ordered a new probe focused on Democrats.

“They’re breaking the law if they redact for any of the purposes that we excluded, like embarrassment,” Massie said.

Should the House pass the resolution, it would go next to the Senate, which would have to take up the measure before sending it to Trump for signature. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune declined to discuss the bill’s future.

Trump denies Epstein relationship

Trump spent time with Epstein in New York and in Palm Beach, Florida, during the 1990s and early 2000s, along with other members of the political and business elite. The president says the relationship ended in the 2000s and that he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. He has accused political enemies of using the association to smear him, and he has bristled at reporters’ questions about Epstein throughout the year.

Emails released last week by a House panel showed Epstein believed Trump “knew about the girls,” though the meaning of the phrase remains unclear. The White House said the emails contain no evidence of wrongdoing by the president.

Last week, Trump directed the Justice Department to examine prominent Democrats’ ties to Epstein following the release of the emails. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has previously said the files offered no new investigative leads, responded that she would begin the review immediately.

Some of Trump’s most ardent supporters argue the government is hiding sensitive material that could expose Epstein’s connections to influential figures who have never faced public scrutiny.

The issue has also strained Trump’s relationship with one of his staunchest allies, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. Trump publicly denounced her as a traitor after she repeatedly criticized Republicans’ approach to the Epstein files, marking a rare public rupture between the two.