DOJ faces Friday deadline to release Epstein files as lawmakers push for transparency

"Stop hiding, stop delaying," Schumer said. "Come clean with the American people. And if you don't, the question will only get louder and louder and louder. Trump, 'What the hell are you trying to hide?'"

Trump signed the bill shortly after it passed unanimously in the Senate - at Schumer's behest - and it easily glided through the House.

Prior to the vote, Trump shifted his position to backing the release of the documents after a firestorm erupted in Congress, particularly the House, for several months after the FBI announced that it "is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted," of materials related to the late financier after reviewing troves of documents in the DOJ's possession.

There are some instances where the DOJ could choose to withhold certain documents, including materials that reveal victims' identities or medical files, child sex abuse materials, information that could jeopardize active investigations, images of graphic death or injury, or classified national security information.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital that he "voted to release the Epstein files every single time that we've had an opportunity to do it across administrations."

"I think I presume good faith on the part of the DOJ," he said. "I mean, listen, the president signed the law. I mean, he's called on them to be released. So I think I will be shocked if they didn't release them. We'll find out pretty soon."

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital that he believed Congress had been clear about its demands for the files and had "no reason to believe that they wouldn't submit or provide the information."

When asked about Schumer's legal threats, he called the top Senate Democrat a "liar."

"That's my response to anything Chuck Schumer says," Schmitt said. "He's one of the worst senators in the history of the country."

Other Republicans are more apathetic about the files' expected release but are still intrigued by what new information they could hold.