Washington — An effort to force a House vote on compelling the Justice Department to release materials related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein secured the final signature it needed Wednesday after House Speaker Mike Johnson delayed the swearing-in of a newly elected Democrat for seven weeks.

The effort, known as a discharge petition, defies House GOP leaders, who have opposed putting legislation backed by Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky on the floor. Khanna and Massie introduced the measure, titled the Epstein Files Transparency Act, in July as pressure intensified on the Trump administration to release more Epstein-related files.

Their bill, as well as several other endeavors to release the materials, led to the disrup

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