Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Urging Trump To Allow Full Transparency Following Unanimous Senate Action To Release Epstein Files
Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the Senate’s successful passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act despite months of Republican delay and the need for full transparency from President Trump as the bill heads to his desk. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
A few hours after the House voted, I came to the floor and got unanimous consent for the Senate to immediately pass this bill. And a few moments ago, the Senate received the Epstein bill from the House. We are glad the House has sent us the bill, and this means it will get to the president’s desk quickly. After months of waiting, months of Republican delay, after so many failed attempts from Donald Trump to hide the truth, the Epstein Files Transparency Act is headed to his desk.
And again, this is a very important moment for so many people whose lives have been destroyed by Jeffrey Epstein and his circle of abusers and monsters. So, I want to thank again all the advocates, the survivors, the victims’ groups who raised their voices, who spoke courageously about the need for accountability, and pushed Congress to take action.
It’s a shame that so many Republicans—Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress—tried for months to prevent the truth from coming out. Republican leaders had to be dragged kicking and screaming to get this bill over the finish line. Left to their own devices, these Republican leaders would have never let this bill see the light of day. But that shows you how powerful this issue is and shows you that a strong group of people—they may be a small group, but with moral right on their side and great conviction—can get to the truth and move that desire forward.
But I want to be very clear: the job is not done. The vote is not the end, it is only the beginning. Once the president signs the bill, he must apply and execute it faithfully. There must be no funny business from Donald Trump. He must not use the excuse of frivolous investigations to release some Epstein documents, while intentionally hiding others that deserve to be seen by the American public. This is not an invitation for Donald Trump to pick and choose his version of the truth. This bill is a command for the president to be fully transparent, to come fully clean, and to provide full honesty to the American people, even if he doesn’t want to.
So, I want to be clear: anything less than full transparency will be unacceptable in the eyes of the American people. If Donald Trump refuses to comply, if he refuses to obey the law, Senate Democrats will hold him accountable. We will exercise oversight. We will demand transparency. We will make it clear to the American people that Donald Trump has broken his promise to come clean on Jeffrey Epstein.
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