Discharge petition reaches 218 signatures, forcing House vote
The discharge petition for the Epstein Transparency Act reaches the required 218 signatures when Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) becomes the final signatory, forcing a full House vote on the bill.
On November 12, 2025, the discharge petition for the Epstein Transparency Act reached the required 218 signatures, guaranteeing that the bill would receive a full vote on the House floor. The pivotal 218th signature came from Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), a freshman Democrat representing Arizona’s 7th congressional district.
The achievement was historic. Discharge petitions rarely succeed — the last successful one prior to this was in 2015. The bipartisan coalition that signed the petition spanned the full ideological spectrum of the House, from progressive Democrats to conservative Republicans, reflecting the extraordinary cross-party support for Epstein file transparency.
The final signature count ultimately exceeded the minimum, with additional members signing on after the threshold was reached. The petition’s success was attributed to several factors: sustained public pressure, aggressive advocacy from survivors’ groups, extensive media coverage of each incremental milestone, and the political difficulty of being seen as opposing transparency on the Epstein case.
Critics of the petition, including some members of House leadership, had argued that the bill needed more refinement in committee and that intelligence and law enforcement equities required careful balancing. Supporters countered that committee inaction was itself a form of obstruction, and that the bill’s review board mechanism already provided adequate safeguards.
With the discharge petition successful, the bill moved to the House floor for debate and a vote, passing with overwhelming bipartisan support and proceeding to the Senate before ultimately being signed into law.