Colorado’s Boebert one of 4 Republicans who were instrumental in forcing Epstein vote
U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert played a key role in forcing a U.S. House vote Tuesday on a measure that would compel the release of Department of Justice files related to its investigation into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Republican-controlled Senate will also need to approve the measure, and President Donald Trump will need to sign it. Boebert, a Windsor Republican, was one of only four House Republicans who signed a discharge petition to force the House vote.
Speaker Mike Johnson held up a bipartisan effort to vote on the legislation amid opposition from Trump, keeping the House in recess throughout the duration of the federal government shutdown that ended last week. But Trump Sunday abruptly changed his position and encouraged House Republicans in the majority to vote to release the Epstein files.
The House voted 427-1 to release the files, with every member of Colorado’s House delegation voting in favor of the measure.
Lauren Boebert
Last week, Boebert was the sole member of Congress in a Situation Room meeting with White House officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. The meeting was part of an administration effort to get Boebert to remove her name from the discharge petition, according to reports, though Boebert told CNN that Trump did not pressure her to take her name off. She did not speak with Trump while she was at the White House, and she spoke with Bondi about gun laws in addition to the Epstein files, she said.
“The president has not forced me to do anything. The president has not put pressure on me. I was not asked by the president to remove my name,” Boebert said, according to CNN. “Every conversation that I had was welcomed and very civil, and, you know, it’s OK for people to have discussions about things that are going on with our nation.”
In a post on X after the meeting, Boebert thanked White House officials for meeting with her and said, “Together, we remain committed to ensuring transparency for the American people.”
The White House has also described the meeting as being focused on transparency.
U.S. Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, co-sponsored the petition with U.S. Representative Ro Khanna, a Californian Democrat. U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and U.S. Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina are the other two Republicans who signed on.
Trump has personally attacked both Massie and Greene for pushing to release the Epstein files, but has not commented on Boebert’s involvement. Boebert is a staunch Trump loyalist, and the Epstein case represents the the most significant break from Trump by his supporters.
At a press conference after the vote, Greene said the Trump administration’s refusal to release what are collectively referred to as the Epstein files “has ripped MAGA apart.”
Boebert’s team did not respond to a Newsline request for comment.
