Republicans have struggled badly throughout the current Congress, though there haven’t been many sex scandals. Of course, the current Congress isn’t over just yet.

The New York Times reported on new allegations surrounding Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito of New York, who only arrived on Capitol Hill last year.

According to the Times’ reportwhich has not been independently verified by BLN or NBC News, the new congressman, just months into his career, paid the woman with whom he was having an affair $2,000 a month for a part-time job, in addition to the $3,800 a month he was paying his fiancée’s daughter.

The article added, however, that a few months later his fiancée found out about the affair, and briefly broke up with him, at which point the New York Republican stopped paying both women.

After the Times’ report reached the public, D’Esposito issued a statementdescribing the article as a “hit piece” and “tabloid garbage,” before saying, “My personal life has never interfered with my ability to deliver results for New York’s 4th district, and I have upheld the highest ethical standards of personal conduct.”

When he arrived on Capitol Hill the following morning, he had even less to say.

It’s tempting to think this sordid tale, if true, is a personal matter, but the details suggest that it’s not quite that simple. For one thing, D’Esposito stands accused of potentially misusing $29,000 in taxpayer funds, and as the Times’ report addedthis has generated ethics questions that probably need answers.

What’s more, there are electoral considerations to keep in mind: D’Esposito narrowly defeated Democrat Laura Gillen in 2022, and the two will face off in a rematch in November. This is a district Joe Biden carried by 14 points in 2020, and Republican leaders were concerned — before this week — about the incumbent congressman’s prospects.

The latest allegations probably won’t help D’Esposito’s re-election bid.

Steve Benen

Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an BLN political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”