Congress
House Ethics panel does not agree to release the Gaetz report
The House Ethics Committee on Wednesday did not agree to release the long-anticipated report into Matt Gaetz.
“There was not an agreement by the committee to release the report,” Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) told reporters after the meeting ended. Other members declined to comment.
Gaetz abruptly resigned from Congress last week, hours after President-elect Donald Trump tapped him to be attorney general. The Florida firebrand told GOP leadership the abrupt resignation was meant to allow them to fill his seat more quickly, but several Republicans theorized it was actually to avoid the coming release of the Ethics Committee report. Typically, once a member resigns they are no longer considered under the panel’s jurisdiction, though the Ethics Committee has released reports on former members at least twice before.
The investigation centered on multiple allegations against Gaetz, including that he had sex with a minor. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The panel was under intense pressure heading into the vote. While multiple GOP senators said they would like to see the report as they consider Gaetz’s nomination, Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters last week that he would strongly urge the committee to not release the report. He softened that stance slightly this week, saying he wasn’t trying to — and couldn’t — dictate the committee’s decision.
Democrats have widely called for the report to be released. Many have speculated that the report could be leaked to the media, or a lawmaker could attempt to read it into the congressional record, which would give access to the public.
But any lawmaker who disclosed the report could face immediate consequences, like censure or expulsion.
While Gaetz allies in the House, and some of his critics, have said they don’t believe the report should be released, that’s not a universal position among Republicans. Many have called for the report to be published or at least shared with the Senate as the chamber considers his attorney general nomination. Multiple GOP senators have said they want to see the report, as nearly a dozen have sidestepped questions about whether they would vote to confirm him.
A meeting is now underway seeking potential paths for ending the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border czar, is meeting with top Senate appropriators and other key senators. It’s the second meeting of the same group in as many days.
Speaker Mike Johnson is planning to put a stalled Homeland Security funding bill on the House floor a third time next week, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss private plans, as the GOP moves to further pressure Democrats to end the five-week closure.
Two versions of the bill have already passed the House, each time with just a few House Democrats breaking from party lines to back it. But the bill is still held up in the Senate, where Democrats have refused to approve DHS funding without adding new restrictions on immigration enforcement.
The House will also vote on a resolution next week in support of DHS workers, including TSA officers who have gone without pay as the spring break travel crush stresses U.S. airports.
House GOP leaders are punting a reauthorization vote for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that they had hoped to hold next week until mid-April, with a GOP hard-liner revolt over warrantless surveillance threatening to tank the legislation, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter granted anonymity to discuss the conference dynamics.
GOP leaders are still dealing with a dozen or so Republican members who want reforms to the spy powers extension, as Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to pass a clean, 18-month extension without any changes. President Donald Trump has also asked for the clean extension.
Johnson and GOP leaders will instead work through the remaining issues over the upcoming two-week recess and try to put the extension on the floor the week of April 14, the people said.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and a group of ultraconservatives have warned GOP leaders that the reauthorization would fail if Johnson tried to push it through next week.
Another House Republican told Blue Light News there was “no way” a rule to advance a clean FISA extension would pass next week.
Johnson can lose only two votes on a rule to advance the measure, and already a handful of GOP hard-liners have told Blue Light News they would oppose it.
The FISA reauthorization deadline is April 20, and the delay leaves barely any time for the Senate to act.
- Another DHS meeting
- Another DHS funding vote coming to House floor
- The decades-long resilience of Cuba’s government in jeopardy over Trump administration’s siege
- The states where higher gas prices could shape the midterms
- House GOP leaders punt controversial FISA vote to April
- ‘Hormuz has to reopen’: Why the oil industry can’t help Trump tame rising gasoline prices
- White House sends blueprint for national AI rules to Congress
- Capitol agenda: Senate heads into a weekend grind
- Pete Buttigieg’s 2026 project
- Congress must ‘adequately’ fund defense, Johnson says, amid talk of $200 billion war request
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoLuigi Mangione acknowledges public support in first official statement since arrest
-
Politics1 year agoFormer ‘Squad’ members launching ‘Bowman and Bush’ YouTube show
-
Politics1 year agoBlue Light News’s Editorial Director Ryan Hutchins speaks at Blue Light News’s 2025 Governors Summit
-
Politics1 year agoFormer Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron launches Senate bid
-
The Dictatorship6 months agoMike Johnson sums up the GOP’s arrogant position on military occupation with two words
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoPete Hegseth’s tenure at the Pentagon goes from bad to worse
-
Uncategorized1 year ago
Bob Good to step down as Freedom Caucus chair this week
-
Politics11 months agoDemocrat challenging Joni Ernst: I want to ‘tear down’ party, ‘build it back up’