Adelita Grijalva’s swearing in on Wednesday will make her Democrats’ newest member in the US House of Representatives, but it’ll also officially set in motion lawmakers’ effort to force a vote on a measure the White House has fought for months: a bill to compel the release of the Jeffrey Epstein case files.
After her 4 p.m. swearing in, Grijalva is expected to provide the 218th – and final – signature needed on the discharge petition to force such a vote and, in turn, trigger a number of procedural steps before the House can vote on a bill compelling the files’ release.
As a refresher, a discharge petition is a critical tool at rank-and-file members’ disposal. Under the arcane procedure, if 218 members of the House – a majority of all 435 districts – sign one, they can force a floor vote in the chamber on anything — even if leadership opposes it. Such an effort rarely succeeds.
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has joined with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California to spearhead this particular discharge petition, but while Grijalva will provide the decisive signature, the effort faces a number of hurdles — and the bill is unlikely to become law.
The effort, should it pass the House, would still have to pass the GOP-led Senate and be signed into law by President Donald Trump, who has derided the effort. But the House vote would put lawmakers on the record on the issue, forcing Republicans in particular to choose between siding with Trump or backing the release of files that could shine new light on the crimes of the convicted sex offender.
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