Who Is Clay Higgins: The Only Lawmaker to Vote 'No' on Releasing Epstein's File—And the Reason Behind It

The US House of Representatives voted on 18 November 2025 to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a bill aimed at releasing documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Nearly all Republican lawmakers supported the measure, except for a lone 'nay' from Louisiana Republican Representative Clay Higgins, who defied his party and described his vote as a 'principled no.'

Who is Representative Clay Higgins, and what prompted him to vote 'no' on the bill?

Clay Higgins: His Political Stance and Controversies

Clay Higgins has served as the US Representative for Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District since being sworn in on 3 January 2017.

Before entering politics, he built an extensive law‑enforcement résumé, serving in the Louisiana National Guard and working as a deputy sheriff and marshal.

He is widely recognised for his tough, crime‑stopper video appeals during his tenure with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office, which cemented his reputation for hardline law‑and‑order rhetoric.

Higgins is a senior Republican member of the House, known for his staunchly conservative and constitutionalist views.

In January 2025, he became Chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement, a role that highlights his focus on perceived misuse of federal authority.

He has publicly investigated politically motivated 'swatting' incidents and criticised sanctuary‑city mayors, calling their actions a 'betrayal of oath' for allegedly endangering public safety.

Higgins has also courted controversy, notably in 2024 when he posted on X derogatory remarks about Haitian immigrants, describing them as 'thugs,' 'eating pets,' and a 'slapstick gangster.' He also referred to the country as 'the nastiest country in the western hemisphere.'

The post drew widespread condemnation and calls for his censure, although Higgins later clarified that his comments targeted gangs rather than the Haitian people as a whole.

In 2020, Facebook took down two posts by the Representative in which he wrote, 'drop any 10 of you where you stand,' seemingly directed at armed protesters planning to attend a Louisiana demonstration against police brutality.

Facebook told Business Insider that the content 'violated our policies prohibiting the incitement of violence.'

Despite these controversies, he remains a prominent figure in the House Freedom Caucus, consistently advocating for law‑and‑order principles, national security, and constitutional governance.

Higgins' Reason For Voting 'No'

On X, Rep. Higgins has shared his reason that led him to vote 'no' to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, saying he has been 'principled "NO" on this bill from the beginning.'

'What was wrong with the bill three months ago is still wrong today. It abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure in America,' the representative added on his post.

The overwhelming 427‑1 vote in favour of the Epstein bill represents a rare instance of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill. Just hours later, the US Senate also approved the legislation, paving the way for the final step: President Donald Trump's signature.

According to Higgins, he votes to safeguard the personal information of Epstein's many victims and sees that it was the primary issue with the legislation—the lack of safeguards.

'As written, this bill reveals and injures thousands of innocent people – witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc,' he wrote.

'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,' the lawmaker continued.

Higgins also said that he would support the bill if the Senate would amend it, 'If the Senate amends the bill to properly address the privacy of victims and other Americans, who are named but not criminally implicated, then I will vote for that bill when it comes back to the House.'

However, Republican majority leader John Thune had already suggested that it was unlikely.

'When a bill comes out of the House 427 to 1 and the president said he's going to sign it, I'm not sure that amending it is in the cards,' Thune said.

Petition to Force a Vote

Before the passage of the legislation, only four Republicans agreed to sign a petition to force a vote; however, after President Donald Trump dropped his opposition to the vote, an overwhelming number of Republicans agreed.

Meanwhile, online speculation has swirled following Higgins' lone vote, with some viewing it as suspicious or self-serving, while others have suggested the Louisiana Representative could be implicated in the files. Higgins, however, has a history of opposing widely supported bills that he perceives as an expansion of federal authority or a threat to security protocols.