Washington DC - Senate Republicans on Wednesday narrowly foiled Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's effort to force a vote on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Schumer pushed for a vote on a measure that would have required President Donald Trump's administration to release the documents it has on notorious pedophile within 30 days.

The measure was filed as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), an annual bill on defense policy which is currently before Congress.

Lawmakers voted 51-49 against it, despite the defections of Republican Senators Josh Hawley and Rand Paul.

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Hawley expressed support for the amendment and said that "the right thing to do here is release the files and trust the American people."

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, however, opposed the move and described it as a "hostile act" by Schumer, who he accused of carrying out a "political stunt" in the Senate.

Trump and his allies have been scrambling for months to contain the fallout from a botched attempt to draw a line under the Epstein scandal.

Scrutiny has only increased after House Democrats released a notorious book given to the late financier on his 50th birthday, a gift that contains a sexually suggestive letter allegedly composed by Trump himself.