Louisiana Republican Clay Higgins has re-entered the national spotlight after becoming the only member of the US House of Representatives to oppose a widely supported bill seeking the full release of the Jeffrey Epstein case files. The move, which saw lawmakers vote 427–1 in favour of the measure, has prompted renewed examination of the congressman’s past controversies, public behaviour and long-criticised associations.

Higgins, 64, represents Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District and has been in Congress since 2016. Long aligned with President Donald Trump, he continues to hold a reserve law-enforcement commission with the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office while chairing a subcommittee that pushed a subpoena for the Epstein records. 

Why Higgins opposed the bill

Following the vote, Higgins defended his decision in a detailed post on X, arguing that the proposal breaches core judicial principles and could expose individuals unconnected to criminal activity.

“I have been a principled 'NO' on this bill from the beginning. What was wrong with the bill three months ago is still wrong today. It abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure in America,” he wrote. He further warned that the measure, as drafted, “reveals and injures thousands of innocent people – witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc.”

Higgins said the House Oversight Committee has already released tens of thousands of pages related to Epstein through its investigation, insisting the current process preserves the privacy of those not accused of wrongdoing. He added that he would support the legislation if the Senate amended it to include protections for victims and individuals “named but not criminally implicated.”

Auschwitz video backlash

Higgins’s record, however, has been under scrutiny for years. In 2017, he filmed a video during a visit to Auschwitz, narrating scenes from inside the former Nazi death camp and linking the horrors of genocide to the need for robust US military power. In the footage, he said: “This is why … our military must be invincible.”

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Museum sharply criticised the recording, reminding visitors that the gas chamber is a site of mourning, not a backdrop for political messaging. After a wave of condemnation, Higgins removed the video and issued an apology:

“My intent was to offer a reverent homage…I did not intend to offend.”

Despite the apology, the controversy has remained one of the most cited moments in his political career.

Racist rhetoric against Haitian migrants

Higgins again drew national condemnation in September 2024 after posting racially inflammatory remarks about Haitian migrants on X, repeating disinformation that had circulated widely online. He described Haitian arrivals as “wild” and “slapstick gangsters” and accused them of criminal and cult-like activities.

His claims fed into a debunked rumour that Haitian migrants were harming pets. The uproar led Democratic lawmakers to call for censure, though then-Speaker Mike Johnson defended him, saying Higgins had “prayed on it … regretted it” prior to deleting the post.

Higgins, however, later rejected the notion of regret, stating, “It’s all true … I’ll say what I want.”

Troubling ties to accused law-enforcement figures

A 2024 Mother Jones investigation resurfaced renewed concerns over Higgins’s associations with former law-enforcement officials facing serious allegations.

The report highlighted Higgins’s relationship with ex-St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy Leon Boudreaux, who was convicted of incest in 2021. Boudreaux told the outlet that Higgins had been in touch with him after the conviction: “He did call me … but we don’t really talk about that kind of stuff.”

Their connection is documented in photographs on the Facebook pages of the “Kindred Vets” motorcycle club, founded by Boudreaux. At the same time, Higgins has been a vocal critic of sex trafficking across the US–Mexico border, raising further questions about his judgement.

The same report detailed Higgins’s own departure from the Opelousas Police Department years earlier after internal findings that he had lied during an assault investigation. One of his former colleagues at the department, John Chautin – disciplined for excessive force – now works as Higgins’s district director.