TL;DR

• Rep. Clay Higgins was the sole member of Congress to vote against releasing the Epstein files.
• He has a deeply anti-LGBTQ record, including votes against marriage equality and the Equality Act.
• Higgins has spread racist lies about Haitian immigrants and backed bills targeting trans youth.
• He claims releasing Epstein documents would harm “innocent people,” despite redaction options.
• His stance aligns with extreme MAGA narratives, putting LGBTQ people and immigrants in the crosshairs.

Congress’s Lone Epstein Holdout Is a Walking Culture War

If you were wondering who the one, single, solitary member of Congress was who voted against releasing the Epstein files, allow me to introduce you to Louisiana’s Clay Higgins — a far-right darling who treats bigotry like a job requirement and facts like optional accessories.

Higgins, who represents Louisiana’s Third Congressional District, managed to stand alone in voting “no” on the bipartisan bill demanding the disclosure of records tied to Jeffrey Epstein. His excuse? That releasing the files would harm “innocent people.” A cute talking point — except Congress already has redaction protocols that protect survivors and non-involved individuals. So what’s the real reason?

Well, Higgins’s political track record may offer a clue — and honey, it’s a greatest-hits album of every anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigrant stance imaginable.

Zeroes Across the Board — His LGBTQ Record Is a Foggy Swamp

Higgins has never met an LGBTQ right he didn’t want to swat down. The Human Rights Campaign gives congressional report cards — and Higgins has managed to ace the F every single year, scoring a straight row of zeroes.

He voted against the Respect for Marriage Act — the bipartisan bill that finally enshrined marriage equality into federal law. He voted against the Equality Act, calling it “radical gender identity legislation,” because of course he did. And he’s backed Marjorie Taylor Greene’s fever-dream bill that would make providing gender-affirming care for trans youth a felony.

He’s also attacked the Biden administration’s Title IX interpretation, because apparently letting transgender kids learn without harassment is a step too far for him.

To put it plainly: if LGBTQ rights come up in Congress, Higgins automatically chooses the cruelest option available.

His Racism Isn’t Subtle — It’s a Billboard

Last year, Higgins echoed Donald Trump and J.D. Vance’s debunked conspiracy theories accusing Haitian immigrants in Ohio of “eating pets.” He posted that Haitians were “wild,” practiced “vudu,” and came from the “nastiest country in the western hemisphere.” It was so virulently racist that Haitian groups sought criminal charges.

Higgins later claimed his post was “only about gangs,” which is the political equivalent of “My account was hacked.” Nobody bought it.

His worldview is a sloppy stew of xenophobia, white grievance politics, and culture-war panic.

The MAGA Mirror

Higgins’s rhetoric perfectly reflects the MAGA playbook:

• Attack immigrants
• Attack LGBTQ people
• Attack trans kids
• Attack racial minorities
• Attack the media
• Attack anyone who doesn’t kiss the ring

This year, he even demanded major social media platforms ban people who celebrated the assassination of antifeminist activist Charlie Kirk. Experts blasted him for essentially demanding political censorship — from the same guy who screams about “free speech” whenever bigots face consequences.

His commitment to hypocrisy is Olympian.

Clay Higgins isn’t just another MAGA backbencher. His vote on the Epstein files shows something deeper: he’s willing to break from both parties in order to shield powerful men from accountability, all while lecturing queer people and immigrants about morality.

This is the kind of politician who weaponizes LGBTQ lives for political points, amplifies racist fearmongering, and pretends he’s defending “freedom” while stripping it from everyone who doesn’t look like him.

LGBTQ voters see through it — and so do a growing number of Americans tired of the same old hate dressed up as patriotism.

Higgins may have tried to keep the Epstein files in the dark, but his own record?
Honey, it was already exposed.