The House Ethics Committee on Monday released a list detailing publicly disclosed sexual misconduct investigations involving members of Congress dating back to 1976, outlining dozens of cases that span multiple decades and administrations.
According to the committee, the list includes 28 investigations involving current and former House members, ranging from former Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who both resigned from Congress last week, to the late Rep. Wayne Hays (D-Ohio).
Of the investigations listed, fourteen involved Democrats and twelve involved Republicans.
The late Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) was investigated twice, once for pursuing a “sexual relationship with a staffer in 2014 and again in 2020.”
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Hastings died in 2021 and was succeeded by Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), who was recently cited for 25 ethics violations in connection with an investigation into the alleged misuse of $5 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds.
An earlier case from 1982 to 1983 involving House pages resulted in the censure of Rep. Gerry Studds (D-Mass.) and Rep. Dan Crane (R-Ill.), though neither lawmaker was expelled from Congress.
In other cases, lawmakers resigned before the completion or public release of findings. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who was investigated for “[s]exual misconduct with minor” and “solicitation of prostitution,” stepped down before the committee issued its conclusions.
The committee noted that it no longer has jurisdiction over the investigations involving Swalwell and Gonzales due to their departures from Congress.
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However, Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) remains under investigation for “[s]exual misconduct and/or dating violence.” An investigative subcommittee examining the allegations was established in November 2025.
“The fact Congress keeps protecting him says everything about who we are as an institution,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said Monday while raising the possibility of an expulsion vote involving Mills.
The Ethics Committee stated that at least half of the investigations occurred within the past decade, adding that it “has adopted a more aggressive and robust approach to allegations of sexual misconduct.”
“The Committee has a long history of investigating allegations of sexual misconduct by Members of the House, ranging from criminal sexual activity to behavior implicating civil employment discrimination laws and more general standards of conduct,” the committee said in a press release.
“The Committee has always made public its findings whenever allegations of sexual misconduct were substantiated.”
Several other former members were included in the list. Former Rep. George Santos, who was accused of sexually harassing a staffer, and former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), who was accused of an improper relationship with a staffer, were both investigated, but the committee did not cite misconduct violations in its public reports.
Santos was later expelled from the House in December 2023 on charges related to sexual misconduct and campaign finance fraud, becoming the sixth member in U.S. history to be removed from the chamber.
The list also included former Guam Democratic Delegate Michael F. Q. San Nicolas, who was investigated over an alleged sexual relationship with a staffer but was not found to have violated House ethics rules.
Several members left Congress before their investigations were completed, including former Reps. Tom Reed (R-NY), Katie Hill (D-Calif.), Ruben Kihuen (D-Nev.), Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.), Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), and John Conyers (D-Mich.). Reed, Hill, Farenthold, Franks, and Conyers all resigned before finishing their terms, while Kihuen and Meehan chose not to seek re-election.
Additional investigations from 1989 to 2006 involved then-Reps. Mark Foley (R-Fla.), Gary Condit (D-Calif.), Mel Reynolds (D-Ill.), Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Gus Savage (D-Ill.), Jim Bates (D-Calif.), and Donald “Buz” Lukens (R-Ohio).
Barney Frank resigned without the Ethics Committee citing a violation in its public report.
Foley, Savage, Bates, and Lukens were found to have committed multiple misconduct violations.
Savage did not resign but lost his re-election bid in 1992 following the findings.
He was succeeded by Reynolds, who later resigned in October 1995 after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old campaign aide.
Bates became the first member of Congress to face sanctions for sexual harassment in 1989 but did not resign. Lukens resigned in October 1990 and served jail time the following year.
Condit admitted to an affair with 23-year-old intern Chandra Levy following her disappearance in 2001.
Her remains were discovered the following year, and the case remains unsolved. Condit lost his primary election and left office in January 2003.
The committee’s release of the list also included a call for individuals to report misconduct.
It stated that it “strongly encourages anyone who may have experienced sexual misconduct by a House Member or staffer” to come forward.
The report comes as the current balance of power in the House remains narrow, with Republicans holding 217 seats and Democrats holding 213.
Separately, the House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights seeking records of “all awards and settlements” paid to victims of sexual misconduct prior to 2018.
Those payments total approximately $450,000 under Section 201 of the Congressional Accountability Act, which covers sexual harassment and other workplace discrimination.
While the names of individuals connected to those earlier settlements have not been publicly disclosed, reports since 2019 have included data on workplace complaints involving sexual, racial, and other forms of discrimination.
In more recent disclosures, Rep. Tom Rice’s office paid $45,000 in 2020 for violations of Sections 201 and 208, the latter of which addresses retaliation.
The office of former Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) paid $24,500, and former Rep. Madison Cawthorn paid $40,000 in 2022, both tied to workplace discrimination or sexual misconduct claims.
In 2023, the offices of Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) and Rep. Josh Harder (D-Calif.) paid $50,000 and $32,500, respectively, to resolve complaints involving workplace or sexual misconduct.
Schneider’s office also settled a retaliation claim, while Harder’s office settled a matter involving family and medical leave protections.
Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez’s office paid $25,000 in 2024 to resolve a workplace discrimination or harassment claim.
In 2025, the office of former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who just stepped down as President Trump’s labor secretary, paid $98,650 to settle a claim involving workplace or sex-based discrimination.
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