WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack held her three-month-old baby as she recorded a video on Tuesday, while in a cloak room, near the U.S. House floor.

Cammack said she had taken her daughter, Augusta Dair Cammack, to an earlier meeting with victims of Jeffrey Epstein, a registered sex offender who died in 2019.

“Many years from now, she will know that she was a part of the movement to release the Epstein files, but more importantly, take a stand against the pedophiles and the corruption and the absolute abuse of power of some of the most elite in the country,” Cammack said.

Just hours after U.S. House representatives voted 427-1 to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the U.S. Senate also passed the bill by unanimous consent after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s request.

“Justice for all, that is what we are fighting for,” Cammacks said.

Republican Rep. Clay Higgins, of Louisiana, was the only dissenting vote in the House.

“This type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt,” Higgins wrote in a statement on X, adding that he was concerned the bill did not “properly address privacy of victims and other Americans, who are named but not criminally implicated.”

Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, filed a discharge petition, a legislative maneuver that required 218 signatures by lawmakers to force a bill out of a committee.

“We had some brave women on the Republican side,” Massie said on Tuesday.

Three Republican women signed the petition on Sept. 2 and stood firm behind their decision. They were U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert, of Colorado; Nancy Mace, of South Carolina; and Marjorie Taylor Greene, of Georgia.

“Attacking survivors for coming forward but not naming names misses the point and does a disservice to the daughters who had the courage to come forward,” Mace, a sexual assault survivor, wrote in a statement on Facebook on Tuesday night.

U.S. Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Frederica Wilson, Lois Frankel, Kathy Castor, Jared Moskowitz, and Maxwell Frost were among the Democrats who signed Massie’s petition on Sept. 2. U.S. Reps. Darren Soto and Debbie Wasserman Schultz were among the Democrats who signed it on Sept. 3.

After House Speaker Mike Johnson delayed her swearing-in ceremony for seven weeks, Rep. Adelita S. Grijalva, of Arizona, was the 218th lawmaker to sign the petition on Nov. 12.

The petition then allowed Massie to introduce a resolution on Nov. 15 amending the bill directing Justice Department “to make publicly available certain records related to Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell.”

U.S. Rep. Ro Khana, a Democrat from California, sponsored the bill on Nov. 15 to require the DOJ to publish the records “in a searchable and downloadable format.” Massie was the co-sponsor.

Trump told reporters on Monday that he would sign the bill if Congress sent it to his desk.

“I am all for it,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

On Tuesday morning, a group of women who accused Epstein of sex crimes talked to reporters during a news conference on Capitol Hill that included Massie, Khana, and Taylor Greene.

“Standing on the right side of history is not a comfortable place to be. It never has been,” said Wendy Avis, who reported meeting Epstein, her abuser, when she was 14 -- her daughter’s age now.

The news conference also included Sky Roberts, the grieving brother of the late Virginia Giuffre, Epstein’s sex trafficking victim, and the author of a recently published posthumous memoir, “Nobody’s Girl.”

Through tears, Roberts praised his sister for her activism before her death in April, and he asked lawmakers to support the bill.

“My sister is not a political tool for you to use. These survivors are not political tools for you to use,” Roberts said. “These are real stories, real trauma, and it’s time for you to stop just talking about it and act.”

Epstein survivor from Florida delivers statement

Related story: Jeffrey Epstein wrote to Deepak Chopra about Trump, congressional records show

Here are some of the reactions by U.S. House representatives from Florida:

REPUBLICANS

Rep. Carlos Gimenez: “I voted yes to release the Epstein files. The American people deserve full transparency and have a right to know the truth. It’s time to put this issue to rest once and for all so we can get back to governing and delivering real results for the American people,” Gimenez wrote on X.

Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar: “Ahead of the House vote, I met with survivors of Epstein’s abuse, courageous women whose voices have been ignored for far too long. Their strength is a reminder of why transparency and accountability must come first. No more secrets. No more protection for the powerful,” Salazar wrote on X.

Rep. Mario Diaz Balart: “House GOP have led the charge under Chairman Rep. JamesComer‘s leadership, the GOP oversight has released over 65,000 pages of documents, subpoenaed key players, and demanded full disclosure from the DOJ – while protecting the victims. This bill, while flawed, continues to deliver on transparency and justice for victims, and today’s vote continues ongoing efforts to hold offenders accountable," Diaz Balart wrote on X.

Rep. Scott Franklin: “Transparency is essential, but victims must be protected at every step. Today’s vote moves us in the right direction on both,” Franklin wrote on X, adding a statement urging the Senate to strengthen provisions.

“Releasing these records must be done carefully to uphold due process,” Franklin wrote.

Rep. Greg Steube: “The American people deserve transparency and I hope this vote will be another step towards justice for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” Steube wrote on X.

Rep. Vern Buchanan: “House GOP voted to unseal the Epstein files because the American people deserve the truth. Today’s vote was about transparency, accountability and protecting victims,” Buchanan wrote on X and released a statement.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna: “Some used the Epstein files to smear POTUS instead of bringing justice to the victims, which tbh is super gross. I look forward to the continued investigations into this with GOP oversight. They deserve justice,” Luna wrote on X.

Rep. Gus Bilirakis: “I fully support complete transparency regarding the Epstein files and unwavering justice for the victims. No individual, regardless of wealth, power, position, or political party, should ever be shielded from accountability,” Bilirakis wrote on X in a statement.

Rep. Mike Haridopolos: “Today, I voted in favor of releasing the Epstein files because the American people deserve full transparency and accountability. No exceptions, no special treatment,” Haridopolos wrote in a statement on X.

Rep. Randy Fine: “Transparency is being restored. Epstein Files are getting released. Moral of the story, don’t be a panican! Trust President Trump,” Fine wrote on X.

Rep. John Rutherford: “Sunlight is the best antiseptic. I believe these files must be released while also taking into account the importance of protecting innocent victims and guarding against innuendo,” Rutherford wrote in a statement on X.

Rep. Jimmy Patronis: “This could have been done during the Biden Administration, but they didn’t want these records out cause it will probably look bad for many of their friends,” Patronis wrote on X.

DEMOCRATS

Wasserman Schultz: “Trump – who can release them right now – will try to bury the truth. We’ll keep demanding accountability, transparency and justice for these brave survivors," Wasserman Schultz wrote on X.

Wilson: “Americans deserve the truth. Survivors deserve peace. And the perpetrators must be brought to justice. I’m not here to shield pedophiles or hide information from the American people. It’s time to make the files public,” Wilson wrote on X.

Frankel: “No more secrecy, no more excuses. The survivors and the American people deserve the truth,” Frankel wrote on X.

Rep. Kathy Castor: “The American people deserve the truth and I stand firmly with the brave survivors,” Castor wrote on X.

Rep. Maxwell Frost: “The American people, and especially the survivors, deserve transparency and the full truth,” Frost wrote on X.

Soto: “Florida must remain a place where our children are safe. We will not tolerate protecting predators in our state,” Soto wrote on X.

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