WASHINGTON — Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., is forcing a floor vote this week to require the House Ethics Committee to release a report on its yearslong investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.
Casten introduced a resolution Tuesday that would force the bipartisan ethics panel to act. Because the resolution is “privileged,” it must be brought to the floor within two legislative days for a vote.
President-elect Donald Trump named Gaetz, his close ally, as his pick for attorney general on Nov. 13. Gaetz also resigned from Congress that day.
But Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration a little more than a week later over opposition from GOP senators, largely related to the ethics probe into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied he did anything improper or illegal.
Before Gaetz bowed out, the Ethics Committee — five Republicans and five Democrats — had deliberated behind closed doors and ultimately deadlocked along party lines over making the report public. But Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., said Gaetz’s withdrawal “should end the discussion of whether or not the Ethics Committee should continue to move forward in this matter.”
At issue is whether the panel should release a report to the public about a former member of Congress. The committee has jurisdiction only over sitting members of Congress, but there is a precedent decades ago of the committee’s publicizing a report about a former lawmaker months after he resigned from Congress.
On Oct. 5, 1987, Rep. Bill Boner, D-Tenn., resigned to become mayor of Nashville. The Ethics Committee released an initial staff report the following December examining allegations that Boner misused campaign funds, failed to disclose gifts and accepted bribes.
Casten introduced a similar resolution the week before Thanksgiving, but it expired as the House left for recess. The new version has been updated to include four examples of past instances when the Ethics Committee released reports after members had left office.
“The Committee on Ethics has, on many occasions, released its reports on former members,” Casten said in a statement Tuesday. “Resigning from Congress should not allow Members to avoid accountability for allegations as serious as those faced by Matt Gaetz. Withholding this report from the American people would impede the dignity and integrity of the legislative proceedings of the House.”
Since Gaetz withdrew his name for attorney general, there has been speculation — some of it fueled by Gaetz himself — that he could run for governor of Florida in 2026 or join the Trump White House in a position that would not require Senate confirmation.