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There’s been a reckoning in this current Congress over the last year and a half related to unethical behavior. Now, lawmakers want to do something about it.
Unethical behavior is not a new phenomenon. That’s why both the House and Senate created their separate Ethics committees in the 1960s to investigate and punish these kinds of behavior.
To be sure: Several lawmakers are forced to undergo ethics investigations, typically over campaign finances, that are resolved without problem. But over the last year and a half, we’ve seen a rise in allegations that have been publicized, criticized and, in some cases, forced lawmakers to leave office altogether.
A trio of House lawmakers resigned within a week of each other earlier this year in April. Two of them, Reps. Eric Swalwell of California and Tony Gonzales of Texas, were accused of sexual misconduct with congressional staffers and were pressured to step down from office before their terms were up.
Swalwell was also pressured to drop his bid for California governor.
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned a week later, facing allegations of fraud and stealing FEMA funds.
Already, that’s a significant turn of the tide in Congress. And it even had a ripple effect in the Senate as some Republicans pushed the Senate Ethics Committee to look into Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who was close friends with Swalwell when they served together in the House.
That investigation was closed with no charges brought against Gallego.
Going beyond just those three, the “ethics reckoning” is having an effect on the midterm elections as well.
Rep. Chuck Edwards was pressured into dropping his reelection bid for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District after the House Ethics Committee recommended he be censured for inappropriate conduct toward two young female staffers. That misconduct involved inappropriate gifts, personal comments and invitations to private outings.
Rep. Cory Mills lost his primary in Florida after two of his House colleagues, Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Haridopolos, endorsed his opponent. Mills is currently under investigation for sexual misconduct and possible violence.
Luna is among those calling for reforms to House procedures dealing with ethics investigations into alleged assault.
Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, faces allegations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife, who said he scalded her with hot water from a skillet, once held a gun to her head, and that he fractured their daughter’s collarbone and bruised her shoulder.
Miller refused to drop his reelection bid and so far remains on the 2026 ballot. As a result, his seat with a R+5 rating has been listed as a “toss-up” from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Miller even filed paperwork to have the Ethics Committee investigate the allegations, which the panel announced it would do.
Democrats have had their fair share of allegations as well. The House Ethics Committee announced this week that Rep. Jimmy Gomez is under investigation related to allegations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate sexual contact with a congressional staffer.
And then there’s Graham Platner, who was a running a widely popular Senate campaign to oust Sen. Susan Collins in Maine before he was pressured to drop out by party leaders. That pressure campaign came after two former girlfriends accused Platner of sexual assault.
As the House returns from its recess in September, some lawmakers are ready to make some changes. A bipartisan pair of female lawmakers plan to unveil a framework reforming how sexual misconduct and other misbehavior is investigated within the House.
It would streamline processes within the House Ethics Committee itself as well as procedures for staffers to report such violations.
Time will tell if they can get such reforms through before the end of the year. The House will be in for four of the five weeks in September before adjourning for the month of October.
Stories Driving the Week
- Migrant workers proposal: Utah Sen. John Curtis faced angry online immigration hawks earlier this month when he announced legislation to create a state-led migrant visa program. A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll finds Utah voters are in favor of the change.
- Monumental debate: While Utahns were not supportive of President Donald Trump’s recent reduction of the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, they do want to see greater local control of public land, according to a Deseret News-Hinckley Institute of Politics poll conducted by Morning Consult.
- Data center drama: With the shrinking of the Great Salt Lake, a governor and citizens worried about preserving air quality and limiting water usage, and amid a growing national backlash, some oppose the construction of data centers entirely.
Recess Recs: Play POTUS
Welcome back to Week 2 of my Recess Recommendations. Did you check out last week’s rec of Congressional Yea or Nay?
This week, I found another politically-centric game that coincidentally checked both of my boxes from last week: engaging but also educating. Let’s hop into it: Play POTUS.
Think you can do better than the current roster of lawmakers? Now is your chance to prove it.
This is how it works: Essentially, you get to take over as president for eight weeks. The program automatically updates itself and generates real-life political updates and situations. You begin with a “briefing” organized by your staff: it compiles the latest updates from around the world, the newspapers, etc.
This week focused all on the Iran war, asking the president (you) how to handle votes in Congress and what to do next in the conflict.
Once you make a choice, the program simulates an alternate political universe. You can see the potential consequences of decisions, and the game uses actual members of the Senate (and a general sense of their voting history) to determine how they might react to your decisions.
Not only that, it generates headlines predicting what the press coverage would be like for each of your decisions, as well as what voters would say. By the end of your eight-week presidency, you can see where your approval ratings stand.
The game also generates what some members of your Cabinet may be saying to the press to defend you, and it predicts a “trust meter” for how much your administration officials support you. You want to keep those numbers high, obviously.
Bottom line: It’s not as easy as it looks! Give it a try, and let me know what you think.
Quick Hits
From the Hill: John Curtis says he remembers Vietnam when thinking about Iran. … Democratic socialists notch surprising win in Florida primaries. … HHS ‘actively reviewing’ Mike Lee’s push for a new Type 1 diabetes treatment.
From the White House: Trump’s endorsement record takes a hit as primaries near an end. … Trump’s GOP ‘heirs’ are ranked more favorably than the president in Utah. … Trump threatens ‘economic D-Day’ for Iran, asks allies for help.
From the courts: Luigi Mangione’s guilty plea creates a new legal battle in New York. … Supreme Court will hear case that could impact where you can pray.