House Republicans are considering whether to move forward with disciplinary measures against House Ethics Committee ranking member Susan Wild (D-PA) over her handling of the panel’s investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) said he had been asked for his “view” on introducing a censure resolution against Wild, who will leave Congress in January, amid reports that she was at the center of leaks regarding the Gaetz investigation. It’s unclear whether Republicans would move forward with such a measure, which would need to be brought to the floor next week before Congress adjourns and Wild is no longer a House member.
“House Ethics discussions are confidential, and House Ethics has no jurisdiction over individuals not serving in Congress. There must be consequences for ‘leaking,’” Perry said in a post on X. “How can anyone have any faith in the House Ethics Committee when one of its own members are engaged in unethical practices.”
Scott said he is not “leading the effort,” but Punchbowl News reported on Friday that he was at the center of conversations on the House floor concerning the subject earlier this week.
Talk of a censure resolution comes after the Hill reported that Wild was absent from recent Ethics Committee meetings discussing the report after she was traced as the leak to some of the investigation’s findings. It was not clear whether Wild chose to skip or if she was asked not to attend.
A Wild spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment by press time, but her office previously said her absence was due to frustration with the committee’s handling of the Gaetz report.
“Rep. Wild was frustrated by the manner in which the report was handled and didn’t feel it was fruitful to participate in any further meetings on its ‘potential’ release. Characterizing it as anything more is inaccurate. There will be no further statement,” Jed Ober, Wild’s chief of staff, told the Hill.
House leaders have suggested that there should be repercussions for any committee members who were involved in possible leaks, telling Axios the practice is “dangerous.”
“We can’t set that as a precedent,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told the outlet.
The committee has met repeatedly to discuss whether to release the investigation’s findings, although the bipartisan panel has failed to reach an agreement. Because the panel consists of five Republicans and five Democrats, any decision must have bipartisan support to be approved.
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That deadlock prompted some House Democrats to take matters into their own hands, with Reps. Sean Casten (D-IL) and Steve Cohen (D-TN) both filing separate privileged resolutions that would force the House Ethics Committee to publish its report. However, both of those measures were shot down by Republicans on the House floor.
Those failed votes make it almost certain the report will never see the light of day as House leadership will appoint new members to the Ethics Committee next year and Gaetz will no longer be in contention for a Trump Cabinet position or elected office. However, if the Florida Republican does run for office in the future, some Republicans have suggested they would want to see the report released.
