Mike Johnson holds press conference before vote on Epstein files release - November 18, 2025

On November 18, 2025, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and key Republican leaders held a high-stakes press conference just hours before a critical House vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The bipartisan legislation, propelled forward by a successful discharge petition led by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), aims to unseal thousands of documents revealing Jeffrey Epstein's extensive network of sex trafficking, elite connections, and institutional failures. In a dramatic turn, President Trump publicly reversed his stance over the weekend, urging Republicans to support the bill and pledging to sign it into law. Johnson, who had previously criticized the measure as a Democratic ploy, used the event to outline the GOP's position amid mounting pressure for accountability. The conference underscores the nonpartisan momentum for justice, highlighting victims' stories and the urgent need to expose cover-ups across administrations.