Congress is grappling with questions about ethics investigations after three members resigned

WASHINGTON – Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday defended the secretive process used in that chamber to investigate allegations of misconduct, but confirmed that a complaint against Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego has been referred to the Ethics Committee.

“In the beginning, we always start very, very privately to protect members because we don’t want to encourage frivolous accusations,” said Senate Ethics Committee Chairman James Lankford, R-Okla. “We want to enable accurate accusations. And actually work to hold each other accountable.”

The comments came just hours after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he would lead efforts on this side of the Capitol to improve the process for filing an ethics complaint, particularly when it involves sexual harassment.

“You may know this, I have two daughters who serve on the Capitol Hill committee. (This is) very serious to me. I’m a father. I’m not just the speaker of the House,” he said. “This is exactly why we need to protect women and anyone who feels that this is inappropriate behavior. So if there are opportunities and suggestions to tighten the rules, we will seek that from all members. We are open to that.”

Johnson said he hopes any votes to change House rules pass on a bipartisan basis, if not unanimously. He also reflected on the long history of misconduct by members of Congress.

“There have always been undesirable activities among political figures. I mean, this goes back to time immemorial. There has always been marital infidelity. There has always been despicable behavior,” he said. “It occurs to us that because of the very active press, the 24-hour news cycle, smartphones and the recording of everything, it may not have been as exposed and transparent as it is today.”

Discussions about whether to keep the ethics rules and investigations in their current form or overhaul the process began last week after California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell and Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales did so resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

At the time, Florida Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned On Tuesday, the House of Representatives Ethics Committee was able to recommend what consequences it should expect afterwards The panel found her guilty to more than two dozen violations.

GOP accusation on social media

However, Swalwell’s resignation may not mean the end of this scandal.

Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna wrote in a social media post on April 15 that it “seems like the Senate has its own trash to put out. @LeaderJohnThune You need to look into the allegations against one of your senators, it’s very disturbing. My boss will be contacting your boss.”

Her comments appeared to refer to Gallego, of Arizona, who was friends with Swalwell but has tried to distance himself from the former congressman since news of allegations from multiple women broke earlier this month.

Thune said during Tuesday’s press conference that “specific matters” were referred to the Senate Ethics Committee and that he “did not know the details of the allegation.”

“The Senate Ethics Committee is supposed to ensure that this institution and its members behave in a manner appropriate to the office and that we do things in an ethical manner,” Thune said.

Gallego’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“A calm manner”

Lankford said members of the Senate Ethics Committee “are very serious about accepting allegations, particularly allegations like sexual harassment, all the different things that are out there… But we operate quietly.”

The committee, he said, receives “hundreds of different allegations” that its members then work through to decide whether to move forward.

“As you know, in the political world in which we live, we receive many allegations that are ultimately unfounded,” Lankford said.

It’s unlikely the Senate Ethics Committee will move to a model similar to the House Ethics Committee, which releases statements at the start of investigations into members, sometimes detailing the allegations, he said.

“There’s a lot more publicity that is speaking out on the issue and ends up finding out that it becomes the site of the allegations,” Lankford said. “So it makes more accusations easier because it creates more drama.”

The Senate panel has not issued a press release since August 2024 two-page report For 2025, the committee reported that it dismissed 160 of 181 alleged violations because of “lack of expertise” or because “they did not present sufficient facts about material violations of Senate rules that go beyond mere allegations or allegations.”

The annual report goes on to say that the Senate panel did not issue any “private or public letters of admonition” and there were no “matters that resulted in disciplinary action.”

The last time the committee issued a public letter was in March 2023 after South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham solicited “campaign donations at a federal building” for Georgia Senatorial candidate Herschel Walker.

Later, during the afternoon news conference, Lankford explained his belief that some ethics allegations are more political than genuine.

“Our focus is that all people need to be heard on this issue, but we live in a political world. When every ethics allegation is made in a political world, everyone picks up that ethics allegation, uses it in a campaign and says, ‘There was an ethics allegation out there, the Ethics Commission is talking about it.'” And suddenly it becomes a drama and allows more things to come our way,” he said. “We want to take every victim, every allegation seriously. But we also understand the environment in which we work.”