House Votes 357-65 to Block Public Release of Misconduct Reports

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected an effort Wednesday led by Rep. Nancy Mace to force the public release of internal investigations involving allegations of sexual harassment or inappropriate relationships between members of Congress and their staff.

In a decisive 357-65-1 vote, lawmakers opted to refer Mace’s resolution to the House Ethics Committee — a procedural move that effectively halts the transparency push for now. Despite the outcome, a notable group of lawmakers broke ranks with leadership to support advancing the measure, including 38 Republicans and 27 Democrats.

Mace Pushes for Transparency on Capitol Hill

Mace’s resolution sought to require the Ethics Committee to publicly release within 60 days “all reports, including any conclusions, draft reports, recommendations, attachments, exhibits, and accompanying materials” tied to investigations involving alleged sexual harassment or sexual relationships with congressional staff.

The proposal included provisions requiring the redaction of personally identifiable information belonging to victims or alleged victims.

Mace argued the measure was necessary to end what she described as a longstanding culture of secrecy surrounding misconduct investigations in Congress.

“Congress has been sweeping this under the rug for far too long. Tony Gonzales may be the latest example, but he’s not the only one,” Mace said earlier this week. “Staff deserve to come to work without being harassed by their bosses. Women deserve to be safe. And the American people deserve to know when their so-called ‘representative’ is abusing power instead of serving their constituents. No more hiding. No more excuses. It’s time to end the cover-up and drag the truth into the light.”

“Any Member who votes against this resolution is voting to protect the cover-up instead of the victims,” she added. “Nobody in Congress gets to play by a different set of rules. We are going to shine a light on every single case this committee has been sitting on.”

Ethics Committee Pushes Back

The debate intensified after the House Ethics Committee announced Wednesday morning that it had formally opened an investigation into allegations involving Gonzales, a Texas Republican who recently secured a spot in a primary runoff following Tuesday’s election.

House rules restrict certain disciplinary actions within 60 days of an election, adding complexity to the timing of the investigation.

Shortly before the vote on Mace’s resolution, the Ethics Committee publicly urged lawmakers to reject the measure. The panel warned that forcing broad disclosure of investigative records could damage ongoing cases and discourage cooperation from victims and witnesses.

According to the committee, the proposal “could chill victim cooperation and witness participation in ongoing and future investigations.” The panel further cautioned that the measure “could have a negative impact on the Committee’s ability to investigate and eliminate sexual misconduct in the House,” urging members to instead send the issue back to the committee for further review.

Rules on Relationships With Staff

House rules strictly prohibit members of Congress from engaging in sexual relationships with staff members who work in their personal offices or serve on committees under their authority. Lawmakers are also barred from sexually harassing staff.

The ban on sexual relationships between members and their staff was formally adopted in 2018 amid the nationwide Me Too movement.

While some substantiated misconduct cases become public, the Ethics Committee is not required to disclose every complaint or investigative document that crosses its desk.

Mace insisted her proposal would not compromise victims’ privacy because it required personal identifying information to be removed.

“It’s not just the investigations that have concluded. It’s ones that are ongoing right now, and quite frankly, I don’t give a damn. So this has been a hidden secret for a long time,” she said.

Additional Transparency Efforts

Beyond the floor vote, Mace has continued to push for greater transparency in how misconduct cases involving lawmakers are handled.

During a hearing of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, she successfully passed by voice vote a motion to subpoena the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights for records tied to certain settlements paid under the Congressional Accountability Act prior to December 2018.

The subpoena would apply only to settlements involving members of Congress — not staff — after an amendment by Rep. Robert Garcia limited the disclosure while still requiring reporting on total settlement amounts connected to nonmembers.

Before reforms enacted in 2018, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights was not required to publicly identify the congressional offices involved in misconduct settlements. Under current law, those office names must now be published online.

Lawmakers Remain Cautious

Wednesday’s vote revealed a broad bipartisan reluctance among lawmakers to mandate sweeping public disclosure of internal investigative files — even as calls for accountability and transparency on Capitol Hill continue to grow.

For now, Mace’s push to expose the full scope of congressional misconduct investigations remains stalled, though the issue is unlikely to disappear as scrutiny over ethics and accountability in Washington intensifies.