Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on the House Ethics Committee to release and share its report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz following President-elect Trump’s nomination of Gaetz as attorney general.
After Trump’s unexpected announcement on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson revealed that Gaetz had resigned “effective immediately,” effectively halting the investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use.
Durbin issued a statement on Thursday urging the Ethics Committee to provide the findings to the Senate Judiciary Committee. He raised concerns about the timing of Gaetz’s resignation, suggesting that it could have been a move to suppress critical information.
Gaetz’s sudden resignation raises concerns over timing and transparency
“We cannot allow this valuable information from a bipartisan investigation to be hidden from the American people,” the statement read. Durbin further emphasized that the report could be vital to Gaetz’s potential confirmation as attorney general, highlighting the Senate’s constitutional duty of advice and consent.
Durbin reiterated his stance in a series of posts on the social media platform X. Before the resignation, the Ethics Committee had planned to meet on Friday to decide whether to release its report, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Punchbowl News first reported this meeting. The committee had initially scheduled a vote in late July but was delayed by the early recess of the House. If the vote had gone forward, the report could have been published after Gaetz’s primary election but before the general election, in accordance with the committee’s rules for election periods.
Despite the investigation ending with Gaetz’s resignation, the Ethics Committee could still vote to release the report, which would be an unusual move. The announcement of Trump’s nomination of Gaetz caused a stir in Washington, with sources reporting audible gasps in the room where House Republicans were waiting to begin leadership elections.
