Merkley, Luján: No Business as Usual Until Justice Delivered for Jeffrey Epstein’s Victims

Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and New Mexico's U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján-the lead Senate sponsors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act-announced they would block any pending civilian nominations before the Senate from being carried over to the new session of Congress in response to the Trump Administration's failure to provide a briefing to lawmakers on the release of the Epstein Files. Merkley and Luján issued this statement announcing their hold:

"There can be no business as usual until justice is delivered for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein's horrific crimes. The Trump Administration's lack of transparency about its plans to release the Epstein Files signals it is gearing up to disregard the law we led the fight in the Senate to pass, which overwhelmingly passed both chambers of Congress. Without full transparency and accountability, there can be no 'equal justice under the law.' Until the administration reverses course and provides a common-sense briefing, which lawmakers from both parties requested, we are blocking the Senate from carrying over any outstanding civilian nominations into next year."

Earlier this month, Merkley teamed up with Luján and a bipartisan group of lawmakers to demand a briefing from Attorney General Pam Bondi on the U.S. Department of Justice's efforts to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act and fully release the Epstein Files by December 19, 2025-as required by the law Merkley and Luján championed.

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