Stacey Plaskett, the Democratic delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands, defended herself before the U.S. House of Representatives after revelations that she exchanged text messages with Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing. The resolution to censure and remove her from the House Intelligence Committee failed in a close vote (214-209) as Plaskett insisted the messages were part of constituent engagement—not coordination—and emphasised her long career as a prosecutor.