The leading politician in the United States House of Representatives, Speaker Mike Johnson, has resisted calls to release a report examining allegations against Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be attorney general.
The report, led by the House Ethics Committee, examined accusations that Gaetz, 42, had inappropriate sexual relations with a minor and engaged in illicit drug use.
US media had indicated the report was slated to be released on Friday, just two days after Gaetz resigned from Congress.
On Friday, Johnson, a fellow Republican, told reporters that his recommendation was to keep the report unpublished, citing Gaetz’s resignation as a reason.
“I’m going to strongly request that the Ethics Committee not issue the report because that is not the way we do things in the House,” said Johnson.
But Democrats quickly slammed the speaker’s decision. Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader of the House, quoted the adage that “sunlight is the best disinfectant”.
“In a democracy, transparency is always the best course of action, particularly when it relates to high-ranking government officials,” Jeffries said, signalling his support for the report’s release.
As Trump’s pick for attorney general, Gaetz is slated to lead the Department of Justice and serve as one of the highest-ranking law enforcement officers in the country.
But allegations of sexual misconduct have fuelled the controversy surrounding Gaetz’s nomination for the post: The Justice Department itself launched a nearly three-year investigation into Gaetz, though it ultimately chose not to pursue charges.
Gaetz faces what is expected to be a contentious Senate confirmation proceeding in 2025 to decide whether his nomination will pass.
A ‘weaponised’ system?
In April 2021, just months after the Justice Department probe began, the House Ethics Committee started its own investigation into Gaetz’s behaviour.
“The Committee is aware of public allegations that Representative Matt Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift,” a press release at the time read.
Gaetz, however, has denied any wrongdoing. Like Trump, he has accused rivals in the government of weaponising the justice system against him.
“I believe that there are people at the Department of Justice who are trying to criminalize my sexual conduct, you know, when I was a single guy,” he told the publication Axios in March 2021.
In nominating Gaetz to head the Justice Department on Wednesday, Trump cited their shared view that the legal system had been wielded against them. The president-elect also pledged “desperately needed reform”.
“Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department,” Trump said in an online statement.
Probe stays secret
Gaetz’s resignation from the House, in the aftermath of his nomination on Wednesday, brought the Ethics Committee’s work to an end.
The committee is charged with investigating possible ethics violations among sitting House members. Now that Gaetz is no longer a representative, its findings have been left in limbo.
On Friday, House Speaker Johnson cited those limitations in his decision not to push for the report’s release.
He added he planned to urge House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest not to provide the Gaetz report to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“The rules of the House have always been that a former member is beyond the jurisdiction of the Ethics Committee,” said Johnson.
“I think it’s a terrible breach of protocol and tradition and the spirit of the rule,” he added. “I think that would be a terrible precedent to set.”
Just hours earlier, Johnson had returned to Washington, DC, after a trip to visit President-elect Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He and Trump have been pushing for party unity in 2025, as Republicans prepare to take control of the White House and the Senate, in addition to the House.
Gaetz controversial pick
Gaetz, however, has been a controversial pick for a cabinet-level position, even among Republicans.
In 2023, for instance, Gaetz spearheaded an effort to unseat former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, resulting in a weeks-long impasse over his replacement.
Critics also say he has minimal experience to qualify him for a cabinet-level position. Already, some Republican senators have expressed doubt about his viability for the role.
“I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for the attorney general,” Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska told US media. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious.”
In order to take up the role, Gaetz would need to be confirmed by the Senate, where Republicans are slated to have a majority of 53 seats out of 100.
Democrats are also pressuring their colleagues in the Senate to make the Gaetz ethics report public. On Friday, US Representative Steny Hoyer told reporters that he believes the Senate would be in its right to request the report before voting on Gaetz.
“Certainly the Senate has the authority to ask for it, and I frankly think the House ought to produce it. After all, this is a critical issue that the Senate has to address,” Hoyer said.
He added he was “deeply disappointed” by President-elect Trump’s choice for the attorney general role.
“I don’t know how many times this has happened in history, where a nominee for the attorney general of the United States, the chief of law enforcement of the United States, would have the ethical and legal issues that this nominee has had,” Hoyer said.
“This is a historic issue.”
