Bipartisan women call on Ethics panel to speed up Gomez probe ahead of midterms

Female lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are calling for the House Ethics Committee to speed up its investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) ahead of the midterms.

The House Ethics Committee on Monday said it was investigating allegations that Gomez violated House rules by “engaging in inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer.”

CNN reported in June that the committee was investigating Gomez, after the New York Post published a story that said he was seen kissing a younger staffer who worked for a different House Democrat in 2023.

The Democratic Women’s Caucus on Wednesday called on the Ethics Committee to “release the status of their investigation, while protecting survivor privacy, before the 60-day blackout period ahead of Election Day.”

“The recent allegations against Representative Jimmy Gomez are disturbing and must be taken seriously. Allegations of workplace sexual harassment against women must be investigated and if substantiated, met with clear and meaningful consequences,” Democratic Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández (N.M.), Emilia Sykes (Ohio) and Hillary Scholten (Mich.) wrote in a statement.

Leger Fernández is the chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, while Sykes and Scholten serve as vice chairs.

Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), chair of the Republican Women’s Caucus, said in a statement the committee “should move with urgency, and if these allegations are substantiated, Representative Gomez must resign and any criminal conduct must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Gomez told The Hill in a previous statement his actions “were consensual in nature and haven’t violated the law or House Ethics rules.”

But two attorneys said Wednesday their client told the House Ethics Committee that Gomez sexually harassed and assaulted her.

“Contrary to Representative Gomez’s assertion in his statement, his actions were not ‘consensual in nature’ with respect to our client,” wrote the attorneys, Lisa Banks and Sarah Nesbitt of Katz Banks Kumin LLP, in a joint statement. “We fully expect that the House Committee on Ethics will come to the same conclusion in its investigation.”

Cammack said the woman “showed real courage” in telling the committee about her experience.

“She deserves a process that is fast, fair, and fearless. Due process must be respected, but it cannot be used to run out the clock,” the Florida Republican said.