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Which Republicans supported the Epstein files release vote?
Executive Summary
Four House Republicans publicly backed forcing a House vote to release unclassified Department of Justice records related to Jeffrey Epstein by signing a discharge petition: Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and Nancy Mace. Reporting also identifies a small group of other Republicans who said they would vote for release though they did not necessarily sign the petition — notably Warren Davidson, Eli Crane, and Don Bacon — while sources disagree on whether the number of GOP signers is three or four and note competing institutional and political pressures shaping the drive to make the files public [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].
1. Who actually signed the petition — four Republicans stepped up to force a vote
Contemporary reporting converges on a concrete list of four GOP House members who signed the discharge petition to compel release of Epstein-related DOJ records: Reps. Thomas Massie (KY), Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), Lauren Boebert (CO), and Nancy Mace (SC). News outlets repeatedly identify this quartet as the only Republicans to append their names to the petition that, together with all Democrats and additional supporters, reached the 218 signatures needed to force a floor vote [1] [2] [3]. The fact that these four are named across multiple accounts indicates clear, documentable GOP participation in the procedural step to trigger a House vote, even as other Republicans framed their positions differently.
2. Who said they would vote ‘yes’ without signing — a broader GOP proclivity to support release
Beyond the signers, reporting notes that several Republican lawmakers publicly signaled they would vote in favor of releasing documents even if they did not sign the discharge petition. Reps. Warren Davidson, Eli Crane, and Don Bacon are explicitly mentioned as GOP members who indicated they would support the measure on the floor, increasing the practical Republican yes-votes beyond the signees and helping secure the petition’s success [4]. This distinction between signing and pledging a vote matters: signing a discharge petition is a public procedural act with political cost, whereas a floor vote commitment can be made later and is subject to different pressures.
3. Institutional moves and the broader release context — committee dumps and partisan framing
The release effort did not happen in a vacuum; House Oversight Republicans released thousands of pages of documents related to Epstein, and Democrats released emails implicating public figures — actions that intensified the push for a comprehensive DOJ file release [6]. Committee releases and the discharge petition operated in tandem, with Democrats and some Republicans arguing that full public records are necessary for accountability, while opponents raised concerns about procedural safeguards and victim protection language. The competing committee disclosures contributed to the urgency and political theater around the formal petition and vote.
4. Conflicting counts and the politics of portrayal — three vs. four GOP signers
Some reporting contains a narrower tally, stating three Republicans had signed the petition, while others list four by name [5] [2]. This discrepancy reflects differences in reporting windows and source access rather than an irresolvable factual contradiction: multiple outlets citing named signers consistently name Massie, Greene, Boebert, and Mace, whereas shorter updates or pieces focused on procedural mechanics sometimes referenced a smaller GOP contingent. Readers should note that timing and emphasis drive these count differences, and the most complete contemporaneous lists identify four GOP signers [1] [2] [3].
5. Motives, messaging, and potential agendas — transparency, politics, and pressure
The public statements from the Republican signers emphasize transparency and support for survivors, while party leaders and the White House expressed concerns about the manner and breadth of release and whether the bills protect victims [1] [7]. Speaker-level comments that he would not block a House vote signal institutional acquiescence to the discharge process, even amid party tensions [5]. These competing messages reveal a dual agenda: some Republicans frame their actions as a principled transparency push, while leadership and other conservatives voice institutional caution and political calculation, illustrating how procedural steps intersect with partisan messaging and executive-branch sensitivity to high-profile disclosures [6] [7].