Mike Johnson backs ban on lawmakers dating Hill staff
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Speaker Mike Johnson speaks at a news conference on June 30. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told Axios Tuesday he supports banning members of Congress from having romantic or sexual relationships with Capitol Hill staff, adding momentum to a discussion about tightening House workplace rules.
Why it matters: Congress has been rocked this year by a series of sexual misconduct scandals, prompting bipartisan conversations about reforming how the House deals with sexual harassment and misconduct.
- "I think it's inappropriate, as it would be in any workplace," Johnson told Axios when asked about lawmakers engaging in relationships with staffers.
- "We should, at a bare minimum in Congress, have, you know, rules and traditions that are adhered to in corporate America, so that's an easy one for me," Johnson continued.
- House rules prohibit members from engaging in sexual relationships with members of their own staff, but do not prohibit relationships with staff members outside their offices.
Driving the news: A bipartisan House task force on sexual misconduct is weighing whether to recommend banning lawmaker-staffer relations.
- "If you're a member, you really should not be doing that because you have extraordinary power and authority over that individual's career, even if they are not in your office," Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), the GOP lead on the task force, told Axios Tuesday.
- "There is a massive power dynamic imbalance," she added.
Cammack said banning relationships with staff outside of a member's office remains under discussion, though lawmakers have a "difference of opinion" on the proposal.
- She said the task force is "70% of the way there" on a broader package of recommendations.
Catch up quick: Calls for tougher rules ramped up after two lawmakers — Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) — resigned earlier this year amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Swalwell also faces allegations of sexual assault.
- Swalwell has denied the allegations, and Gonzales admitted to an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.
- The Ethics panel lost jurisdiction over the matters when each of the lawmakers stepped down. Both were staring down imminent expulsion votes.
Separately, Axios has reported that Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) had singled out two young female staffers for special attention that sources described as inappropriate.
- Edwards is under House Ethics investigation for alleged sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment.
- Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) is also under House Ethics investigation for allegations that center on domestic abuse, stolen valor and financial misconduct, all of which he denies.
Zoom in: The New York Post reported that Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) engaged in romantic relationships with two staffers outside of his office while he served in the House. Asked about the allegations, Gallego told NBC News that he was "not going to engage in gossip."
- In response, House Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), the highest-ranking woman in GOP leadership, called for a ban on member relations with congressional staff.
- "Even if a relationship is consensual, there is an inherent power imbalance that can undermine trust and create an appearance of impropriety," McClain wrote on X.
