Who is Clay Higgins, the only US House member to vote against releasing Epstein files?
Both the House and Senate acted decisively to pass a bill to force the Justice Department to publicly release its files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Both Democrats and Republicans alike readied for a unanimous House vote Tuesday to pass a bill to force the release of the case files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But in the end, Republican Representative Clay Higgins stood alone in the US House of Representatives, casting the only vote against a bill. While lawmakers from both parties moved toward what was widely expected to be a unanimous vote, Higgins maintained that he had been a principled "NO" on this bill from the beginning.
The bill passed the House 427-1, with the only no vote coming from Rep. Higgins, a Louisiana Republican who is a fervent supporter of Trump. He said in a statement that he opposed the bill because it could release information on innocent people mentioned in the federal investigation.
Why did Clay Higgins oppose bill?
Higgins, who is in his fifth term representing a congressional district in southwest Louisiana, explained his objections in a lengthy statement. While he echoed some of the concerns previously voiced by House Speaker Mike Johnson, also a Louisiana Republican, Higgins, unlike Johnson, refused to shift his position under political pressure. Johnson ultimately backed the measure, saying that "none of us want to go on record and in any way be accused of not being for maximum transparency."
He said his concern with the bill was that it reveals and injures thousands of innocent people — witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc. "If enacted in its current form, this type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt," he added.
Higgins suggested that he would be open to voting for it if the Senate amended it to protect the privacy of those "who are named but not criminally implicated."
By the afternoon, the Senate approved the bill unanimously and without amendment, making Higgins the sole lawmaker in all of Congress to oppose it.
Shortly after the House passed the measure by an overwhelming margin, the Senate on Tuesday also cleared the Epstein Files Transparency Act, moving the mandatory release of records tied to the convicted sex offender a step closer to reality. The legislation now awaits President Trump's signature.
Who is Clay Higgins?
Clay Higgins is a Republican congressman from Louisiana's 3rd District and has served in the US House since 2017. A former law enforcement officer, Higgins built much of his public identity on his years in policing, a background that continues to shape both his rhetoric and his legislative priorities.
Before entering politics, Higgins served in the US Army's Military Police Corps and later held multiple law enforcement roles across Louisiana, including in Opelousas, Port Barre and the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office. His tough, outspoken persona as an officer helped propel him to Congress, where he often approaches policy debates through a law-and-order framework.
In Washington, Higgins is aligned with the Republican Party's conservative wing and is an active member of the House Freedom Caucus.
Clay Higgins past controversies
Yet Higgins is also no stranger to controversy. As a former law enforcement officer, he faced a series of allegations of misconduct and became politically involved after achieving viral fame by creating brash Crime Stoppers videos. It earned him the nickname by media outlets as “Cajun John Wayne,” and he’s followed up the moniker by challenging people on social media to fights.
In 2020, a social media post by the congressman -- promising the use of force against armed protesters -- was removed by Facebook for violating the company’s violence and incitement policies.
In Congress, he chairs the subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee that initiated a subpoena of the Department of Justice for the Epstein case files. But even when Democrats on the subcommittee convinced several Republicans to vote with them to issue the subpoena, Higgins was one of the few who stood opposed. He also pressed to have the subcommittee subpoena former President Bill Clinton.
"I've never handled a subpoena like this. This is some fascinating stuff," Higgins said at the time.
Last year, Higgins also faced an attempt by Democrats to censure him for racist comments he had made about Haitian immigrants after Trump’s own comments about the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio.
In a social media post, Higgins called Haitians "wild. Eating pets, vudu, nastiest country in the western hemisphere, cults, slapstick gangsters."
(With AP inputs)
Also Read: US House and Senate pass bill to force release of Epstein files; pending Trump's assent
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