Politics
The committee has been investigating allegations that Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.
By Robert Draper, Luke Broadwater and Maya C. Miller, New York Times Service
WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee, which has been investigating allegations that Rep. Matt Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, was prepared to vote to release a highly critical report about Gaetz on Friday, according to a Republican official familiar with the matter. The release would have come two days after President-elect Donald Trump selected Gaetz to be attorney general.
Gaetz, R-Fla., abruptly resigned from his House seat late Wednesday, effectively ending the ethics investigation that has hung over his head for years.
Gaetz, the official said, had repeatedly offered combative replies to questions posed by the committee, effectively delaying the fact-finding process for months. The publication of the committee’s findings was additionally delayed, the official said, because of a House rule that forbids releasing a negative report close to an election. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive investigation.
Now, with Gaetz’s departure from Congress, the committee no longer has jurisdiction to investigate him. It was not immediately clear whether it would still release its findings. Tom Rust, the chief counsel and staff director for the panel, declined to comment.
The report’s expected release Friday was reported earlier by Punchbowl News.
Republicans in Congress expressed shock at Gaetz’s selection to be attorney general. Gaetz, who led the successful effort last fall to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California, is one of the most reviled members of his conference.
For two years, the Justice Department looked into allegations that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and possibly violated federal sex trafficking laws. The department closed its investigation last year without filing any charges against Gaetz.
Still, the Ethics Committee opened an inquiry in 2021 into the sexual misconduct allegations along with claims that Gaetz misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, accepted impermissible gifts under House rules, and shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, among other transgressions.
Gaetz has tried to turn the allegations against him into a badge of honor. “I am the most investigated man in the United States Congress,” Gaetz said of the ethics inquiry when it began, insinuating that the inquiry was merely punishment for undermining McCarthy’s leadership.
Gaetz’s resignation complicates the math for House Republicans, who effectively won control of the chamber Wednesday night, according to The Associated Press. But they are on track to have a tiny majority, and with Gaetz departing, they will be down one seat from the start.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced Gaetz’s resignation at a news conference Wednesday night after House Republicans chose their leaders for the next Congress. Johnson said he had called Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to start the process for scheduling a special election to fill the seat.
Trump told Johnson of his decision to select Gaetz earlier in the day, shortly before he took the stage to briefly address and congratulate the Republican conference. In those remarks, Trump joked about poaching more House Republicans for his administration.
“I have begged and pleaded with the new president, ‘Enough already, OK?’” Johnson told reporters. “Because our numbers are small.”
Earlier in the day, some of Gaetz’s colleagues made no secret of their joy to see him depart.
“Most people in there are giddy about it. Get him out of here,” said Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, speaking about his party colleagues who were gathered to vote in leadership elections. He said Trump had plenty of other good options for nominees, but probably went with Gaetz to reward his loyalty.
Before Gaetz’s resignation was publicly announced, Miller suggested that if the Senate hearings unearthed new and convincing evidence that the misconduct allegations against Gaetz were true, his colleagues could expel him, as they did Rep. George Santos late last year.
Miller said he and other House Republicans were shocked that Gaetz had agreed to participate in the Senate confirmation hearings, which involve rigorous and invasive background checks.
“I’m surprised that Matt would do this to himself,” Miller said. “I want to go get a big bag of popcorn and pull up a front-row seat to that show.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
