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.
Here are the steps the House will have to take once Grijalva becomes the 218th signature:
How long does it take to ‘ripen’?
If Grijalva signs onto the effort on Wednesday, an additional seven legislative days have to lapse before a member can move to bring the petition to the floor. The week is often referred to as the “ripening” period.
Then, House Speaker Mike Johnson has up to two legislative days to schedule a vote. (But again, calendar days don’t always equal legislative days – the House must be in session.)
That means the first week of December is the earliest the House could actually begin considering a vote to release the Epstein files on the House floor.
The House schedule has been in flux, and the target date could change if the House adds or cancels upcoming days that lawmakers are expected to be in session.
Can GOP leadership delay or dodge the effort?
House Speaker Mike Johnson does have a few maneuvers at his disposal to try to delay or derail the process, including an attempt to table a final vote on the matter or referring it to a committee.
The speaker has previously indicated that if the petition gets 218 signatures, he will allow for a vote. “If they get their signatures, it goes to a vote,” Johnson told reporters last month.
But Johnson also called the effort a “moot point” on CNN earlier this week, citing the House Oversight Committee’s Epstein-related investigation and release of thousands of pages of documents.
Assuming the process moves forward, the House would then have to take a series of procedural votes with hours of debate on the House floor before the bill would receive a final vote.
And then, after all that, the bill would still need to be considered by the Republican-controlled Senate – a dubious prospect – where 60 votes would be needed for it to advance, if it even got a vote.
Will the Senate consider the bill?
Even if Massie’s bill clears the House, there’s no guarantee it would get a vote in the Senate. Majority Leader John Thune has previously told CNN he did not think the chamber needs to pass the legislation, citing the Justice Department’s release of thousands of pages related to the case.
When asked whether the Senate should vote on the bill, the Republican leader said he was “not sure what that achieves.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer attempted to force a vote in September on a bill calling for the release of the files, but Senate Republicans killed the measure — with all but two Republicans voting to derail it.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
