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Three U.S. House Lawmakers Resign in April After Ethics Probes
Three U.S. House members resigned this month following allegations of sexual misconduct and ethics violations. Lawmakers from both parties are proposing reforms to the House Ethics Committee to speed up investigations and enhance accountability. House Speaker Mike Johnson stated he will lead efforts to tighten rules and improve reporting mechanisms.
Apr 24, 5:00 AM·2m read2 sources
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U.S. House lawmakers resigned in April amid allegations of bad behavior, including sexual misconduct and ethics violations.
The House Ethics Committee announced an investigation into allegations following those reports. A former congressional staffer stated that no complaint was ever filed during their tenure on Capitol Hill.
A lawmaker also faced similar sexual misconduct allegations surfaced in media reports. Another lawmaker resigned this week, just before the House Ethics Committee was set to meet and recommend punishment after finding multiple ethics violations.
House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest proposed adding additional investigators to the House Ethics Committee to speed up its work. Guest also proposed bringing the Office of Congressional Conduct under the House Ethics Committee's jurisdiction to eliminate duplicative efforts.
Additionally, Guest proposed expanding the committee's jurisdiction to continue investigations after a member resigns or leaves Congress.
Guest said, 'I think we could simplify it. We could streamline the process and by streamlining the process, hopefully see that cases are moved through quicker.' A member of the House Ethics Committee wants the panel to enforce subpoenas by imposing criminal sanctions on non-compliant witnesses.
The member discussed the panel. He said, 'There’s a lot I’d like to do to make the committee move faster and reformed.' Members introduced a bipartisan bill this week to prevent members of Congress from receiving pensions if they commit serious offenses.
