The House Ethics Committee finally has filled its ranks after the longest delay in recent history, allowing the reserved body to resume its duty of reviewing lawmakers’ conduct — a task proven challenging and dramatic in the wake of former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.
With the 119th Congress already in full swing, the new members of the committee will have to handle months of backlogged work and determine cases. Chairman Michael Guest (R-MO) is returning to lead the body, along with incumbent Reps. John Rutherford (R-FL), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Deborah Ross (D-NC) and Glenn Ivey (D-MD).
New members on the GOP side include Reps. Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) and Ashley Hinson (R-IA), and Democrats tapped Reps. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) and Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) to join. DeSaulnier will serve as the committee’s ranking member, working closely with Guest on a number of issues.
While typically a secretive body that rarely issues statements and keeps investigations of House members off the record, the committee faced a crisis last year over whether to release a damning report of its investigation over allegations that Gaetz paid several women, including at least one minor, to have sex with him.
The committee, which typically operates in a bipartisan fashion, was divided over whether to release the report, as it rarely releases findings of investigations into lawmakers who resign before they are concluded. But eventually, enough members of the bipartisan body voted to publish the report in full in December 2024.
Gaetz, whom President Donald Trump originally nominated for attorney general and resigned from Congress in November 2024, was investigated for four years by the committee over allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor and use of illicit drugs.
With Gaetz gone, the Ethics Committee will set its sights on either opening new cases or continuing old ones. In January, prior to the start of the new Congress, the Office of Congressional Ethics recommended a full-committee investigation into Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) over alleged federal campaign finance violations. He has also faced allegations of inflating his resume. The congressman has denied any intentional wrongdoing and any problems were an “honest mistake.”
The committee is also likely to resume its review of an inquiry from the OCE into Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), who made headlines last month over allegations of assault in Washington. The Metropolitan Police Department’s internal affairs is also investigating the situation after there were numerous police reports about an altercation involving Mills and Sarah Raviani, the co-founder of Iranians for Trump.
Police said in an original report that a woman, a 27-year-old who is not the congressman’s wife, stated that her significant other for over a year “grabbed her, shoved her, and pushed her out of the door.” In a statement, Raviani denied a physical altercation but noted there was an “emotionally charged” personal matter.
Raviani posted a photo with Mills on Tuesday, reigniting conversations over the alleged assault incident. A Mills spokesperson declined to comment on the photo to the Washington Examiner but confirmed that he and his wife have been separated for several years and are undergoing divorce proceedings.
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“Recently, the media publicized false accusations about me related to an alleged personal incident,” Mills said in a statement. “While this is a private issue, it has unfortunately been turned into something of a salacious attack. I want to make it clear that I have been separated for many years and working through divorce proceedings for the last two years. My separation and ongoing divorce proceedings are also a private matter and should not be politicized.”
Other continuing Ethics Committee investigations include one involving Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) for possible campaign finance violations.