House Republicans voted on Thursday to block a Democrat-led effort to release a long-awaited Ethics Committee report on allegations against former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.
The House took a step to effectively shut down a resolution from Democrats that would have required the public release of the report.
Last month, before Gaetz withdrew, Republicans on the House Ethics Committee voted behind closed doors – and against the will of Democrats on the panel – not to release the results of the investigation at that time.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he does not think the report should be released because Gaetz is no longer a member of the House, so the ethics panel no longer has jurisdiction.
After the vote, Johnson called the ethics report a “moot point” given that Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress.
Rep. Sean Casten, who led the effort to force an initial House vote Thursday, expressed his disappointment after nearly all House Republicans voted to kill it.
After that first vote, the House voted on a second, similar Democrat-led resolution seeking to compel the release of the report. »
