House Ethics wants reinforcements as misconduct probes pile up
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Speaker Johnson on May 15. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The House Ethics Committee is facing one of its busiest stretches in years as lawmakers confront a growing pileup of misconduct allegations.
- "He has had a great challenge, the chairman of Ethics Committee, that committee is very busy right now," Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told Axios on Friday.
Why it matters: Pressure is growing on Congress to prove it can police itself amid a wave of misconduct allegations. But top lawmakers say the panel tasked with investigating those claims needs more resources to keep up.
- Two lawmakers — Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) — resigned last month amid sexual misconduct allegations. Swalwell denied wrongdoing, while Gonzales acknowledged an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.
- Reps. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) and Cory Mills (R-Fla.) are also being investigated by the panel over sexual harassment and sexual misconduct. Both deny any wrongdoing.
Driving the news: Ethics Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) told Axios last month that his committee needs more resources to "move matters more quickly."
- Guest said he wants to have conversations with Democratic and Republican leadership about bringing the Office of Congressional Conduct under the House Ethics umbrella, giving the committee access to their staff.
- "We'll dedicate whatever resources are necessary to ensure the House Ethics Committee does its job as it should," Johnson told Axios on Friday.
- "There's lots of allegations flying around, so we'll make sure that they have everything they need to get the job done," the speaker added.
The big picture: Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced a bipartisan "partnership" Wednesday to overhaul how Congress handles misconduct cases.
- The two top leaders tapped the chairs of the Republican and Democratic women's caucuses — Reps. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) and Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) — to lead the effort.
- "We all are in agreement, Ethics moves too slow, and I would agree that Chairman Guest has the right idea that they are under-resourced, and that limits their ability to move quickly with these investigations," Cammack told Axios in an interview Friday.
- The task force will hold their first meeting next Friday to start discussing possible reforms. Cammack said she hopes to get reforms done before the midterms.
Democrats, for their part, signaled that their party would make revitalizing the Ethics Committee a top priority if they win back control of the House in November.
- Jeffries "would ask members on the committee, Democrats and Republicans, what they need to do the job and he would try to give them the resources to do the job," said Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), the chair of the House Democratic caucus.
- Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee that doles out funding to the legislative branch, told Axios he "would give them more resources."
Between the lines: Frustration has been growing with the House Ethics Committee.
- The panel's investigations can take months, sometimes years, to issue formal reports or disciplinary recommendations.
- Ethics has investigated 20 cases of sexual misconduct since 2017, but in many instances members resigned before the panel released its findings.
The other side: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), one of the loudest voices demanding accountability in Congress, told Axios she doesn't support giving Ethics more resources.
- "I think that they can do plenty of work that just requires them to actually sit down and make that a priority," she said.
- "I did it for free," Luna added. "I was more effective, and didn't have to wait six years."
