WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans on Wednesday stopped a Democratic amendment to the annual defense authorization bill that would have compelled the release of the government’s investigative files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In a procedural vote, senators voted 51-49 to table the amendment filed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, effectively stopping the chamber from considering the measure. “If Republicans vote no, they’ll be saying to the American people, you should not see the Epstein files,” Schumer said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote. He and President Donald Trump had a well-documented social relationship that Trump says turned sour before allegations against Epstein surfaced. The petition, which needs a majority of House members to sign to force legislation to the floor, is short two signatures.