Washington — House Republicans on Thursday blocked two Democratic resolutions that would have compelled the House Ethics Committee to release a potentially damaging report on its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, voting to refer the matter back to the committee.
Democratic Reps. Sean Casten of Illinois and Steve Cohen of Tennessee introduced twin privileged resolutions, forcing floor action within two legislative days. In a 206 to 198 vote, all but one Republican voted to refer Casten’s resolution back to the Ethics Committee. Cohen’s resolution met the same fate in a 204 to 198 vote, with one Republican voting with Democrats. Republican Rep. Tom McClintock of California was the only member to cross party lines.
In a statement, Casten accused his Republican colleagues of voting “to sweep these allegations under the rug and set an unfortunate precedent.” He said he would continue to pursue the report’s release.
The votes came after President-elect Donald Trump announced last month that he intended to nominate Gaetz for attorney general, prompting intense scrutiny over the Florida Republican’s background and the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Gaetz, who has denied the allegations, withdrew from consideration for the attorney general nomination a little over a week after Trump made the announcement.
Gaetz immediately resigned from Congress after Trump announced he wanted the Florida Republican to join his Cabinet. The timing of his resignation came days before the House panel was set to vote on releasing its report on Gaetz.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, urged the committee to keep the report secret, arguing that a former member is beyond the panel’s jurisdiction and it would set a “terrible precedent.”
“I believe it is very important to maintain the House’s tradition of not issuing ethics reports on people who are no longer members of Congress,” he said on Nov. 15. “The House Ethics Committee’s jurisdiction is over sitting members of Congress. That’s an important rule.”
Casten’s resolution cited four instances in which the Ethics Committee has released reports on its investigations into members after they’ve resigned.
The bipartisan committee met Nov. 20 to consider whether to release the report, but was evenly split along party lines about how to move forward. A day later, Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration, facing a tenuous path to Senate confirmation. There was growing interest from senators on both sides of the aisle in seeing the report before a confirmation vote.
The House Ethics Committee met again Thursday to discuss its investigation into allegations against Gaetz. In a statement, the panel said it is “continuing to discuss the matter.” The committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, who wanted the report made public, did not attend the meeting.