Overview
- The House Ethics Committee issued a rare public statement urging anyone who experienced sexual misconduct by a member or staffer to contact the panel.
- The committee pledged zero tolerance and posted a public history of past sex‑misconduct inquiries, noting it has handled 20 such matters since 2017 even as critics fault its slow, opaque process.
- Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales resigned Tuesday under threat of expulsion, ending the panel’s probes and capping a women‑led push across party lines to force swift accountability.
- Lawmakers are now floating changes that include faster investigations, an independent body with subpoena power, public release of harassment records, and even efforts to strip pensions, though party leaders have urged caution.
- Outside Congress, prosecutors in New York and Los Angeles, as well as federal investigators, are reviewing allegations against Swalwell, which he denies, and a right‑leaning report alleging misconduct by Rep. Jimmy Gomez drew a firm denial from his office.