U.S. Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY) says he has received the required 218 votes for his discharge petition to force the DOJ and FBI to release the complete Epstein files, yet that vote can’t yet be cast.
The 218th vote comes from newly elected U.S. Representative Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), who has pledged to sign the petition on her first day in Congress. That day could already have come (before the federal government shutdown), but House Speaker Mike Johnson asked Grijalva to present official results from the special congressional election she won before her swearing in.
[NOTE: Newly-elected Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) was sworn in the day after winning his election just weeks before Grijalva’s win — on the basis of unofficial vote count results. Grijalva’s victory, by a nearly two-to-one margin, was — like Walkinshaw’s — not in dispute.]
Grijalva has suggested that MAGA-aligned House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was intentionally delaying her swearing in because she was “number 218.”
“I can’t see another reason,” Adelita Grijalva tells Rolling Stone. It doesn’t change the majority, Democrats are still in the minority. That seems to be the only outstanding issue that I can see.”
Story: https://t.co/AcrFZv7XoY pic.twitter.com/pjeGLjW1Zi
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) October 5, 2025
Congressman Robert Garcia (D-CA) agrees with Grijalva. He wrote on social media today: “It’s crystal clear: Speaker Johnson is doing everything he can to stop the swearing-in of Adelita Grijalva—the 218th and final signature we need to force a full release of the Epstein files. Stop the cover-up. Release the files!”
Note: Johnson, who has called the Massie petition “superfluous,” has a record of what his critics characterize as stall tactics when it comes to transparency concerning the Epstein files. The Speaker previously announced an early summer recess for the House, widely perceived as a measure to avoid a vote demanding release of the files. During the recess, President Trump called the Epstein case a Democratic hoax.
The government is shutdown, but the House refuses to go back in session.
Why are we in recess?
Because the day we go back into session, I have 218 votes for the discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files.@SpeakerJohnson doesn’t want that to be the news.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) October 5, 2025
Today, Massie also complained about Johnson. He wrote: “The government is shutdown, but the House refuses to go back in session. Why are we in recess? Because the day we go back into session, I have 218 votes for the discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files. @SpeakerJohnson doesn’t want that to be the news.”