Discharge petition
Definition
A discharge petition is a formal request signed by a majority of House members, 218, to force a bill out of committee and onto the floor for a vote, bypassing leadership's control over the calendar. It can only be filed after a bill has sat in committee for 30 legislative days.1
Why it matters
Discharge petitions are one of the few tools rank-and-file members have to force a vote leadership does not want to hold, since committee chairs and the Speaker otherwise control which bills reach the floor. Reaching 218 signatures is rare precisely because it requires members to publicly defy their own party's leadership.
Seen in the wild
A discharge petition on the Epstein Files Transparency Act reached 218 signatures in November 2025. The bill passed the House 427-1 on November 18, 2025, passed the Senate by unanimous consent the next day, and was signed into law by President Trump on November 19, 2025.2