The House Ethics Committee was unable to reach a consensus on Wednesday regarding the release of its highly-anticipated investigative report concerning former Representative Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.), who was recently tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as the next U.S. attorney general. The committee, which is equally divided between Republicans and Democrats, met behind closed doors for more than two hours but left without a clear resolution on the report’s release.
“There was not an agreement by the committee to release the report,” said Representative Michael Guest (R., Miss.), the committee’s Republican chair, following the closed-door meeting. Guest emphasized that he would not be discussing the committee's internal deliberations with the press.
The committee voted on two key issues during the meeting: whether to release the unfinished report to the public and whether to continue its investigation. The vote to release the report ended in a partisan deadlock, with Republicans opposing the disclosure and Democrats advocating for its release. Meanwhile, the vote to continue the investigation was supported by the majority of the committee, though not unanimously.
Representative Susan Wild (D., Pa.), the committee’s ranking Democrat, stated that all Democrats voted in favor of releasing the report, while Republicans were uniformly opposed. “There was no consensus on this issue,” Wild told reporters. She also criticized Guest for making a public statement after the meeting, suggesting that he had violated an agreement to keep the committee's deliberations private. “He has implied that there was an agreement of the committee not to disclose the report,” Wild said, accusing the chairman of betraying the process by discussing internal matters immediately after the meeting.
The House Ethics Committee, unlike most other congressional panels, is split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, meaning that only one Republican vote would be required to release the report. However, the committee's failure to reach a bipartisan agreement on Wednesday leaves the matter unresolved.
The investigation into Gaetz has centered on serious allegations, including accusations of illicit drug use, statutory rape involving a 17-year-old girl, the misuse of campaign funds, and accepting bribes or gifts—actions that could potentially violate congressional rules. One of the two women who testified in the investigation alleged that Gaetz had sex with her 17-year-old friend in 2017, when Gaetz was a freshman lawmaker. Gaetz has denied the allegations, and the Justice Department dropped its probe into the case earlier this year without filing charges.
The committee's unfinished report could potentially be forwarded to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will play a critical role in confirming Gaetz if he is nominated to serve as Attorney General. That confirmation process is expected to take place after Republicans are projected to regain control of Congress in January.
Senator John Cornyn (R., Texas) indicated that if the House Ethics Committee decides to withhold the report, the Senate Judiciary Committee would consider bringing in witnesses to testify about Gaetz’s alleged misconduct.
The committee is scheduled to reconvene on December 5, but in the meantime, House Democrats have filed separate privileged resolutions to compel the GOP-controlled House to vote on requiring the immediate release of the report. This action may force the issue to the House floor, although lawmakers are unlikely to address it before the Thanksgiving recess.
“The allegations against Matt Gaetz are serious. They are credible. The House Ethics Committee has spent years conducting a thorough investigation to get to the bottom of it,” said Representative Sean Casten (D., Ill.), who filed one of the resolutions. “This information must be made available for the Senate to provide its constitutionally required advice and consent,” he added.
Representative Steve Cohen (D., Tenn.), who also filed a resolution, emphasized that Americans have a right to see the report before the Senate votes on Gaetz's confirmation. “We cannot afford to let this serious issue go unexamined before Congress decides on his nomination,” Cohen said.
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