WASHINGTON, D.C. (Michigan News Source) – Congress has spent months loudly demanding transparency about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. But when it came time to shine some sunlight on their own potential sexual misconduct, many lawmakers suddenly discovered a deep and abiding love for privacy.

Last week, the U.S. House voted 357–65 to refer H.Res. 1100 to the House Ethics Committee – a procedural maneuver that effectively buried a proposal requiring the public release of congressional sexual misconduct investigation records. In other words, the House chose the legislative equivalent of stuffing the paperwork into a desk drawer and hoping nobody asks again.

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The resolution would have required public disclosure of congressional sexual harassment or misconduct investigations, with redactions protecting victims and witnesses. Instead, lawmakers voted to let the Ethics Committee handle it internally.

Rather than vote directly on releasing any sexual misconduct records, the House opted for the safer political route: kick the can to the Ethics Committee.

Critics say the move undermines Congress’s credibility, especially as lawmakers continue to demand full transparency about Epstein-related records and other scandals.

Transparency for thee, but not for me.

The resolution was introduced by South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican, on March 4, amid scrutiny of allegations that fellow GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas had sent sexually explicit text messages to and conducted an affair with former staffer Regina Santos-Aviles, who died by suicide in September 2025. Gonzales admitted to the affair in a March 5 podcast interview, and on March 6 he announced he would drop his reelection bid amid the scandal and ethics pressure, while planning to finish his current term.

How Michigan’s delegation voted.

Michigan’s members of Congress were mostly on the side of keeping the proposal buried. Voting to refer the measure to the Ethics Committee (effectively halting it) was bipartisan and included Democrats Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City), Hillary Scholten (D- Grand Rapids), Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit), Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit). Republicans who voted the same way included Bill Huizenga (R-Holland), Lisa McClain (R-Bruce Township), John Moolenaar (R-Midland), and Tim Walberg (R-Tipton). Voting against scuttling the report were Republicans Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte) and Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet).

Bergman posted about the March 4 vote on his Facebook account saying, “Although we were in the minority, I was proud to stand with 64 of my colleagues in voting alongside Nancy Mace to release all sexual misconduct and harassment reports in the U.S. House. Democrat or Republican – no one should be able to hide inappropriate behavior simply because they hold elected office. The American people deserve full transparency and accountability from their Representatives.”