The House voted on Wednesday to sink an effort from Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) to release all the records pertaining to congressional sexual harassment investigations, which the congresswoman called “bulls****.”
The chamber voted 357-65-1 to refer her resolution to the House Ethics Committee, from where her bill would have forced all documents related to sexual harassment investigations to be made public within 60 days.
Rep. Brad Knott (R-NC), the sole member who voted present, sits on the House Ethics Committee. Of the members who voted against referring, 27 were Democrats, and 38 were Republicans.
In a statement after the vote, Mace said both parties “colluded to protect predators.”
“Every member who voted against this resolution voted to protect the cover-up instead of the victims,” Mace said. “We don’t want to hear a single Member who voted this resolution down utter the name of a single Epstein victim. You don’t get to bury sexual harassment records in Congress and then pretend you care about victims. Pick a side.”
Supporters of Mace’s resolution are also upset with the resolution being essentially killed.
“This is completely not acceptable,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who voted against referring, told reporters. “I wouldn’t tolerate it on the Democrat side. I’m sure as hell not going to tolerate it on the Republican side.”
“Not to mention, I have young female staff in my office,” she added. “What does that say to them?”
House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-MS) and ranking member Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) said in a statement ahead of the vote that passing the resolution “could chill victim cooperation and witness participation in ongoing and future investigations.”
“We will continue to strive to improve the Committee’s investigative processes, and the Committee is always open to considering ways to more swiftly bring accountability to bear,” House Ethics Committee leadership said. “We believe House Resolution 1072 could have a negative impact on the Committee’s ability to investigate and eliminate sexual misconduct in the House.”
Referring a piece of legislation to its respective committee is a tactic often used by leadership to avoid putting members on the record voting for or against controversial measures. Several resolutions looking to censure members of Congress have been put up for a vote to table or refer to a committee to avoid taking politically damaging votes, with some success.
The vote on Wednesday essentially makes sure that Mace’s resolution “never will see the light of day,” the congresswoman said.
“You will see men in Congress, Republicans and Democrats, hide behind the veil of ‘let the process play out,’” Mace said.
While Mace has been a vocal supporter of transparency when it comes to sexual harassment for some time, the latest scandal involving Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) and his alleged affair with a former staffer appeared to be the tipping point. Text messages revealed to the public last week showed Gonzales pressuring a former aide, who died by suicide by setting herself on fire last year, to send sexually explicit photos late at night.
“The reason that no one is ever held accountable here in Congress for their transgressions is because both sides protect the other,” Mace said in a video published last week.
Had Mace’s resolution been adopted, the House Ethics Committee would have been required to preserve and publicly release all reports tied to investigations into members accused of sexual harassment toward staffers or engaging in relationships with staffers within 60 days. Her resolution included congressional staffers, lobbyists, and persons on political campaigns who may have been harassed by a member of Congress.
But House leadership has been insistent that people should not “prejudge” Gonzales’s situation until all the facts are known.
“The voters have spoken last night,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters on Wednesday morning. “It was announced this morning there’s an investigation — the OCC and the House Ethics Committee, and so we’ll see that plays out.”
The Office of Congressional Conduct transferred its report investigating Gonzales to the panel immediately following Tuesday’s primary. The investigation found “a substantial reason to believe” that Gonzales had a sexual relationship with a subordinate, per a review by Politico.
SCANDAL-PLAGUED TONY GONZALES FORCED INTO GOP PRIMARY RUN-OFF FOR HOUSE SEAT
Gonzales is currently facing a runoff election in late May against GOP challenger Brandon Herrera, who has the support of several conservative groups and members of Congress.
While Gonzales has said he will not resign despite calls from his fellow Republicans to do so, he said he will address the allegations about his alleged affair on Wednesday, per Punchbowl News. He did not provide any further details.