EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), the embattled congressman facing allegations of sexual misconduct, has been telling members of the Congressional Dads Caucus that he won’t seek another term as its chairman.
Gomez, who is running against a progressive challenger this fall for his California House seat, said in a message to caucus members that he would step aside. He has said the same in at least one individual conversation.
One source with direct knowledge said those conversations predate the first reports that Gomez, a married father of a young child, was seen kissing a staff member from another congressional office in 2023. He informed one member of the Dads Caucus of his plans to step aside “months” ago, but after the April report, according to a second source familiar with the matter.
Gomez has since been accused of sexual assault, an allegation that he denies. The accusation is part of what prompted an investigation by the House Ethics Committee, announced last week, and has fanned discomfort among members of the caucus, formed by Gomez and other Democrats as a way for fathers in Congress to promote pro-family policies.
The office of Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-MD), who joined the caucus last year, said there will be a “transition” in leadership at their next meeting, which is not expected until after the November elections.
Olszewski is among the members who support Gomez stepping aside in the new Congress pending the ethics investigation. A second member of the caucus, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said Gomez should step down as chairman.
Those calls follow a Monday report from Semafor revealing that Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) was leaving the caucus over the investigation into Gomez.
Gomez placed first in his June primary for another term representing California’s 34th District, a position he has held since 2017, but will face another Democrat, Angela Gonzales-Torres, due to the state’s jungle primary system in November.
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Gomez has acknowledged making “personal mistakes outside my marriage” but denies that he’s violated the law or broken congressional rules and maintains that his actions were “consensual in nature.”
Last week, the leadership of the Democratic Women’s Caucus called on the House Ethics Committee to release the “status” of its investigation before a blackout period that traditionally begins 60 days before an election.