House Launches Bipartisan Review of Sexual Misconduct Reporting After Resignations of Two Lawmakers

Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are preparing to announce a bipartisan task force or working group on how sexual misconduct claims are handled in the House of Representatives, multiple sources confirmed to CBS News. "We're all in support, fully supportive," Johnson told CBS News ahead of the forthcoming announcement.

He said the main thing the task force needs to work on is reporting mechanisms.

Johnson added there is concern that young female staffers are intimidated to come forward. "Trying to figure out some sort of whistleblower protection program," Johnson said. " "We're working on something bipartisan right now, and we're trying to figure out the logistics of it," Jeffries told CBS News.

The initiative follows the resignations of Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas last month. Swalwell, who also suspended his gubernatorial campaign in California, has denied allegations of sexual misconduct but faces several legal challenges.

Earlier this year, Gonzales admitted having an affair with a congressional staffer who later died by suicide and said he would not seek reelection. Since the controversies erupted, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been engaged in discussions, including leaders of the Democratic Women's Caucus and the Republican Women's Caucus.

"I think that there is an equal amount of attention from both sides of the aisle on the issue," Rep.

Kat Cammack of Florida, who co-chairs the Republican Women's Caucus, told CBS News. She added that House leadership understands that this is very timely and transcending politics. Cammack said the working group would likely focus in the coming months on changing the culture on Capitol Hill and addressing gaps in the system for reporting claims.

"It's a really convoluted process for people to come forward and report and there's a lot of fear in reporting," she explained. "While this is not a knee-jerk reaction, it's a thoughtful, well-thought-out process," Cammack said. Rep.

Teresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico, who chairs the Democratic Women's Caucus, told CBS News last month that reform is clearly needed. "We clearly need to have reform because we've had staffers who are unwilling to come forward and engage in the process," she said. Leger Fernandez added that lawmakers are going to look forward to having women lead the process.

CBS News reported that the discussions gained momentum after the two resignations drew renewed scrutiny to longstanding complaints about the existing system for handling misconduct allegations on Capitol Hill.