House lawmakers voted Thursday against releasing an Ethics Committee report on an exhaustive, yearslong investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a close ally and confidant of President-elect Donald Trump.
Democrats had forced the votes and Republicans responded by voting to return the matter to the Ethics Committee, ending the fight over the report’s release for now. Whether the report ever becomes public remains unknown.
The votes came shortly after the bipartisan Ethics panel met privately — for a second time in as many months — about whether to make public the report on allegations that Gaetz engaged in illicit drug use and sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl, obstructed the House probe and other claims.
But after two-and-a-half hours, the panel did not release the report, saying in a statement that it is "continuing to discuss the matter." Ethics Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., told reporters that his panel would meet again before the end of the year.
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"I'm not going to speculate on future action that the committee may take," Guest said when asked whether it might still vote to release the report.
Other members of the panel, from both political parties, had no comment as they left the meeting. The committee's top Democrat, Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, did not attend the meeting and her office had no comment.
Gaetz has denied the allegations, which contributed to some Senate Republicans saying behind closed doors that they would not vote to confirm him as Trump's attorney general.
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Before Thanksgiving, on Nov. 20, the 10-member Ethics panel deadlocked over publishing the report into Gaetz, whom Trump announced as his pick to lead the Justice Department on Nov. 13, the same day Gaetz resigned from Congress.
But Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration on Nov. 21— a move Guest said at the time “should end the discussion” about releasing the report.
Without movement from the Ethics Committee, the full House Thursday evening took action, putting all lawmakers on record. Two Democrats — Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois and Steve Cohen of Tennessee — forced the votes, with resolutions focused on the Gaetz report.
Casten’s resolution would have directed the committee to release its report to the public, while Cohen’s resolution would have forced the committee to preserve and release records of its review of Gaetz. Because the resolutions were introduced as “privileged” on Tuesday, they had to be voted on within two legislative days.
But Republicans thwarted the resolutions by voting to send them to the Ethics panel. The House voted 206 to 198 to refer the Casten resolution to the committee; just one Republican, Rep. Tom McClintock, of California, sided with Democrats and voted no.
The chamber voted 204-198 to refer the Cohen resolution to the committee; McClintock again was the lone Republican to vote with Democrats.
Democrats had pushed to release the report, with Gaetz openly flirting with a bid for Florida governor in 2026 or being mentioned for another potential role in the Trump White House — one that may not need to be confirmed by the Senate.
But Republicans did not want the report released, arguing that the Ethics Committee only has jurisdiction over sitting members of Congress — not ex-members.
House Democrats tried to do the same thing in September 1996, pressing the Ethics Committee to release a report from an outside counsel about its investigation of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga. But the House rejected the resolution in a vote on the floor.
Democrats this time are pushing back against the GOP argument that the Ethics panel can’t publish a report about a member who recently resigned. Casten’s resolution cited multiple instances of the Ethics panel releasing reports about former lawmakers.
For example, 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.
And in 2006, after Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., resigned from office over revelations he sent explicit electronic messages to at least one teenage former congressional page, the Ethics panel released its report into the matter.
“Whereas given the serious nature of the allegations against Representative Gaetz,” Casten’s resolution states, “a failure of the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives to publicly release its report on its investigation undermines the committee’s credibility and impedes the safety, dignity, and integrity of the legislative proceedings of the House.”
Syedah Asghar contributed.
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