Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, the focus of a House Ethics Committee report that may soon become public, is planning to inflict fresh pain on some of his old colleagues. A number of Republican lawmakers are preparing to help.
Gaetz this week floated a plan that would force the disclosure of House members who were the subject of sexual harassment settlements paid with public funds. The effort is inching toward reality, with GOP lawmakers passing around a resolution that would execute the effort, according to a draft obtained by POLITICO.
The measure says it would make public “each settlement of a complaint filed against the office of a Member of the House under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 that provides for the payment of funds which was approved by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee during any Congress.”
It’s still unclear who, if anyone, would introduce the resolution, but it is a topic of serious discussion, according to a Republican lawmaker granted anonymity to talk about the effort. If a lawmaker introduced it as a privileged motion, he or she could force a vote on it within two legislative days without leadership’s blessing. The resolution would direct the Administration Committee to submit a report to the House with the information.
The move is the latest headache Gaetz has inflicted on the House since stepping down as part of a failed bid to serve as President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general. Republicans have been struggling over the fate of a House Ethics Committee report looking into misconduct allegations against Gaetz, including that he had sex with a minor. The committee, which has been rattled by the episode, secretly voted earlier this month to release the findings, and they’re expected to become public after House members leave Washington in the coming days.
Gaetz, who has denied any illegal acts but has owned up to partying and womanizing in his younger years, is working to punish House lawmakers for agreeing to release the report. The Florida firebrand raised the idea of disclosing harassment settlements in a post on X earlier this week as news broke that his report would be made public, writing:
“Someone suggested the following plan to me:
1. Show up 1/3/2025 to congress
2. Participate in Speaker election (I was elected to the 119th Congress, after all…)
3. Take the oath
4. File a privileged motion to expose every “me too” settlement paid using public funds (even of former members)
5. Resign and start my @OANN program at 9pm EST on January 6, 2025.”