In November 2025, a rumor spread that Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives blocked Rep. Tim Burchett, a R-Tenn., from forcing the Department of Justice to release the files related to the case of disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.
The rumor came from Burchett himself. On Nov. 12, he posted a video of himself on X saying that he and House Republicans had asked the House to fast-track the vote on H.R. 4405, the bill to release the Epstein files, but that Democrats had blocked his request (archived):
He posted another video (archived) later that day making the same point. His two posts amassed a combined 5.7 million views. The rumor spread on X, and Snopes readers searched the site and emailed asking whether Democrats had really blocked Burchett's motion to release the so-called Epstein files.
Burchett's request for unanimous consent
On Nov. 12, Burchett requested the unanimous consent of the House so "that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 4405 and ask for its immediate consideration in the House." (The exchange starts at 24:50 in this video.)
Had the House agreed unanimously to this request, the bill to force the DOJ to release the Epstein files would have been fast-tracked to the floor for a vote. According to House rules, all members from both parties and committee leadership must consent.
Rep. Steve Womack — the Republican from Arkansas who was presiding over the session — seemed to consult with, and nod to, someone to his right. Then he told Burchett that according to Section 956 of the House Rules and Manual (Page 805 of this document), "the chair is constrained not to entertain the request unless it has been cleared by the bipartisan floor and committee leaderships."
In response, Burchett asked to know as a parliamentary inquiry, given Republicans were making this unanimous consent request, whether Democrats were objecting to it. But as Womack reminded him, still citing Section 956 of the House Rules, "it is not a proper parliamentary inquiry to ask the Chair to indicate which side of the aisle has failed under the Speaker's guidelines to clear a unanimous consent request."
While it is unclear who blocked this request and why, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., later reportedly said Republicans had brought the request for unanimous consent to fast-track the vote to the floor. We contacted the offices of both Burchett and Johnson to confirm that all Republicans in Congress had agreed. We await a response.
Burchett's and Johnson's accusation was moot, however. Johnson said the same day he would schedule a vote on H.R. 4405 for the following week, after a so-called discharge petition received enough signatures to remove H.R. 4405 from consideration in the Judiciary Committee, effectively forcing a vote. (Burchett made the unanimous consent request after the discharge petition passed.) The 218th and last signature was that of Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., who was sworn in earlier that day. In other words, the Democrats — who accounted for 214 of the signatures — were instrumental in getting H.R. 4405 to the floor for a vote.
We contacted the Democratic leadership to ask if they blocked the unanimous consent request, and, if so, why. We will update this request should they respond.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, who has been named in documents related to Epstein already released, reportedly pressured some House members to stop the vote on the bill to release the Epstein files.