Just minutes after voting against a Democratic-led effort to release the long-awaited Jeffrey Epstein files, Congresswoman Nancy Mace took to social media with a bold statement: “All child r*pists should get the death penalty,” according to Axios, as noted by X community notes on her post.Her post has since drawn intense backlash, with critics accusing her and fellow Republicans of protecting abusers.Mace’s post came shortly after the House voted 211–210 to block a procedural move that would have triggered debate on forcing the justice department to release the Epstein documents within 30 days, according to the Clerk of the United States House of RepresentativesAll 211 votes against the motion came from Republicans. Just one Republican crossing over would have tipped the outcome.Although Mace is not on the House Rules Committee, she was among the 211 GOP members who voted against the move to bring the matter to the floor, leaving many on social media questioning her sincerity.

Procedural or political?

Democrats had sought to advance the amendment, first introduced by Representative Ro Khanna, via a procedural manoeuvre. The attempt followed the Rules Committee’s decision to strike down the amendment the previous evening. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon introduced the motion on Tuesday to force a vote, but it failed narrowly.The measure would have forced the release of files related to the Epstein case, which is still a hot topic for both Republicans and Democrats, especially among supporters of US President Donald Trump. Many in the MAGA movement have long demanded more transparency about Epstein’s network and connections.Even outspoken Republican figures such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, who have previously voiced support for releasing the Epstein files, voted against the motion.

Mace defends her vote

In a follow-up post on X, Mace attempted to clarify her position, saying the vote in question was being misrepresented. “There was no vote on the Epstein files today… despite Democrats best efforts to trick the FAKE NEWS and YOU into thinking otherwise,” she wrote.She argued that the vote was simply a routine procedural action known as the “Previous Question” (PQ), not about Epstein or any specific issue. “If it fails, the minority takes over. In today’s GOP-led Congress, Democrats have no shot at defeating the PQ. So they played games – knowing it would fail – and then falsely claimed Republicans voted against releasing the Epstein files,” Mace posted.She continued, “Don’t fall for it. A TOTAL and COMPLETE LIE. This was a routine, party-line procedural vote. Nothing more. In fact, a PQ hasn’t failed since the 1980s.”However, another X Community Note said, “Misleading. GOP twice blocked efforts to get Epstein files released,” citing Politico.