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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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A Republican senator said she has changed her mind about the significance of the files associated with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
More than 3 million pages of documents related to Epstein, convicted sex offender who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, have been released by the Justice Department, after President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025.
Speaking to reporter Pablo Manriquez on Monday, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis said that while she previously had not seen "the big deal," she now believes files were "worth investigating."
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Newsweek has contacted Lummis for comment via email outside of regular office hours.
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Why It Matters
The release of Epstein files has created a political firestorm for the White House. Critics have accused the administration of slow-walking the release of the files despite an overwhelming majority of Congress voting to force their release late last year. The president has said the country should move on, despite calls for greater transparency of the matter coming from Republicans and Democrats alike.
What To Know
On Monday, the Justice Department created an arrangement, first reported by NBC News, in which members of Congress can view the original, unredacted files.
Members of Congress must give the DOJ 24 hours notice to view the files. Lawmakers may take notes of the files but are not allowed to bring in electronic recording devices.
Lummis has not indicated whether she intends to view the files but she said: “I’ve not been one of the members who has glommed on to this as an issue. I’ve sort of intentionally deferred to others to find out about it. But 9-year-old victims—”
She continued: "Well, initially, my reaction to all this was, ‘I don’t care. I don’t know what the big deal is.’ But now I see what the big deal is, and it was worth investigating. And the members of Congress that have been pushing this were not wrong. So that’s really my only reaction."
What People Are Saying
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in December: "By releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, and President Trump recently calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, the Trump Administration has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have." She also said the Trump administration is the "most transparent in history."
What Happens Next
Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are preparing to question Attorney General Pam Bondi at a hearing Wednesday, where they are expected to press her on how the Justice Department handled the release of the Epstein files.
Lummis has said she has decided not to seek reelection in 2026.
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