Pressure mounts on Ethics Committee to speed up misconduct probes as midterms loom

Democrats and Republicans are pressing the House Ethics Committee to move more quickly on investigations involving allegations of sexual misconduct or domestic abuse, as a string of high-profile cases and the looming midterms have renewed scrutiny of the secretive panel’s process.

Investigations into Reps. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and Max Miller (R-Ohio) — involving allegations of sexual harassment, dating violence or domestic abuse — have dominated headlines in recent weeks, prompting lawmakers to argue that the Ethics Committee needs to find a way to expedite such cases.

The debate comes as two lawmakers known to be under investigation are seeking reelection, leaving the public in limbo over the status of the allegations against them and whether they will face any consequences before voting begins in the midterms.

“One of the long-standing problems of House Ethics investigations is that they simply take too long — staff, the public, and the Members need the investigations and reporting to be quicker and responsive,” Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (N.M.) said in a statement.

Leger Fernández — who has partnered with Rep. Kat Cammack (Fla.), chair of the Republican Women’s Caucus, to combat sexual misconduct on Capitol Hill — added, “Right now we’re talking with staff to finalize proposals that put staff voices and experiences first, but ultimately our work is about changing a culture that has allowed perpetrators to abuse their power without accountability.”

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) also argued on the social platform X earlier this month that there is a “massive problem with current Ethics Investigation process,” adding that “slow rolling investigations to protect party numbers is not due process. It is a cover up.”

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

The Democratic Women’s Caucus quickly 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.”

Gomez advanced from his primary in June and is set to face progressive Democrat Angela Gonzales-Torres in the general election.

Cammack 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.”

She added that the woman “showed real courage” in telling the committee about her experience and that 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,” she said.

Miller, who is facing Democratic opponent Brian Poindexter in November, has been in a similar hot seat . His ex-wife, Emily Moreno, has accused him of hurling hot water at her, pointing a gun at her head and breaking their daughter’s collarbone. Miller has denied the allegations and vowed not to drop his reelection bid.

The House Ethics Committee announced in early August that it was investigating Miller over domestic abuse and illegal drug use allegations.

The Ethics panel has also been investigating Mills since November 2025 over a wide swath of allegations, including whether he violated campaign finance laws, received special favors in his position, engaged in sexual misconduct, and misused congressional resources.

A state judge in October granted an ex-girlfriend of Mills a restraining order after she said he harassed her and threatened to release explicit images of her. Another woman Mills was dating initially told police he assaulted her in February 2025 before recanting. He has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

Mills has previously faced calls to resign or be expelled. The Ethics investigation was still open when he lost his primary this month to Republican Ryan Elijah, a former news anchor for WOFL-TV in Orlando whom Luna and Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-Fla.) both endorsed.

“Cory Mills is still in Congress a year and a half after criminal investigations [and] abuse, and we need real reform that’s going to ensure that members of Congress are actually held accountable,” Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.) told CNN earlier this month.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) regularly points to the Ethics Committee when asked about allegations against lawmakers. In response to a question about Mills and Miller before the House left for its August recess, he told reporters the “key word there is allegation” and said to wait for the process to “shake out.”

Liccardo, however, told CNN that while he’s glad the investigation is happening, “the problem we’ve seen too often and the reason why Congress has been a safe haven for too many abusers is these investigations take far too long.”

Other lawmakers have resigned from Congress with probes into their conduct still pending, resulting in the committee ending the investigations.

Former Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who had both been accused of sexual misconduct, were under investigation when pressure to resign from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle contributed to their departure from Congress in April.

Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), on the other hand, dropped his reelection bid this month after the House Ethics Committee recommended that he be formally censured following an investigation that found he violated the “spirit” of the chamber’s policies on sexual harassment against staff. Cammack said in a statement that the House should follow through with the censure.

The Hill has reached out to the Ethics Committee’s leadership for comment.

House Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) told Bloomberg News back in April that the committee would be “receptive” to changes that would expedite investigations.

“If leadership wishes to change the Ethics process and the fact of additional resources, additional jurisdiction, I think that is a decision for the Speaker and the minority leader to make in conjunction with one another,” Guest said at the time.