Senate Republicans narrowly turned back a move by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to push through an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would have directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to release all files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
The typically slimy move from the Senate’s top Democrat caught Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) by surprise when it was unveiled by the New Yorker, with the body hoping to pass the massive defense spending bill before lawmakers leave town for the Rosh Hashanah recess at the end of next week.
Schumer touted springing the ambush in a post to X on Wednesday as the Democrats continue to cling to the notorious pedophile and sex trafficker to inflict damage on President Donald J. Trump with their sleazy campaign of falsehoods and innuendo to keep the matter in the headlines.
BREAKING NEWS: I just filed an amendment on the Senate Floor to REQUIRE the Attorney General to release the Epstein files.
Republicans will HAVE TO vote on it. We’re going to keep fighting until these files are released. pic.twitter.com/bHFGNnuk3T
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 10, 2025
“Just a few minutes ago, I filed an amendment that would require the attorney general to release all the Epstein files, and Republicans are going to have to vote on it. We’re going to keep fighting until these files are fully released,” he said.
The move was foiled by a vote of 51-49, with two GOP senators joining their friends on the other side of the aisle. Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Rand Paul (R-KY) voted for Schumer’s amendment.
“This has been my consistent position,” Hawley told reporters after the vote went down, according to The Hill. “My position has long been that I think we ought to release those files and trust the American people, just like we did with the MLK files and the JFK files. I think this is a similar deal.”
Paul has been steaming at the administration over the recent sinking of a cartel drug boat, invoking the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” to scold Vice President JD Vance’s support for using the military to keep deadly poison off the streets of America.
“If Republicans vote no, you’ll be saying to the American people that they should not see the Epstein files,” Schumer said on the Senate floor on Wednesday, seeking to peel off a few Republicans to support his shameless stunt. “I ask my Republican colleagues: After all those years you spent calling for accountability, for transparency, for getting to the bottom of these awful crimes, why won’t you vote yes?”
One of those whom Schumer likely believed would be susceptible balked at the amendment being included in the NDAA, which could have potentially slowed its progress.
“It does not belong on the Department of Defense policy bill,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said, according to the New York Times.
“If there was an amendment on the floor that would have the force of law, I’d vote for it in a heartbeat,” said anti-Trump Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), suggesting he would have been a yes if Schumer’s amendment had a serious chance of becoming law and not getting stripped out of the bill.
“It’s a political stunt and we’ll dispose of it,” Thune said.
“The confused and badly failing Democrat Party did nothing about Jeffrey Epstein while he was alive except befriend him, socialize with him, travel to his Island, and take his money!” Trump said in a recent post to Truth Social.
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Chris Donaldson is an ordinary American who is concerned about rampant corruption as well as the ongoing attacks on our way of life by those who have contempt for our hard-earned freedoms. A Navy veteran, he has been a frequent contributor to conservative websites and resides in Florida.
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