The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday (March 4) to effectively kill a resolution that would have forced the public release of all congressional sexual misconduct and harassment reports held by the House Ethics Committee.

The chamber voted 357-65 to refer the resolution to the Ethics Committee — a procedural move that nearly guarantees its death. The resolution was introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina), a conservative Republican who is also running for governor of her state.

Mace's resolution would have directed the Ethics Committee to publicly release, within 60 days, all reports related to investigations into sexual harassment or sexual misconduct involving members of Congress or their aides, with victims' personal information redacted.

The effort came in direct response to mounting scrutiny of Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who faces allegations that he had an affair with a female staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, who died by suicide in September 2025 after setting herself on fire. Anyone who needs to talk can call 800-273-8255 no matter the time of day. Gonzales had sent sexually explicit text messages to Santos-Aviles. Gonzales denied having an affair but has not addressed the substance of those allegations since the messages became public.

The House Ethics Committee came out against Mace's resolution before the vote. In a joint statement, Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-Mississippi) and Ranking Member Mark DeSaulnier (D-California) argued the resolution "could chill victim cooperation and witness participation in ongoing and future investigations" and would hamper the committee's ability "to investigate and eliminate sexual misconduct in the House."

"Victims may be retraumatized by public disclosures of interim work product, excerpts of interview transcripts, and certain exhibits," Guest and DeSaulnier said. "And witnesses, who often only speak to the Committee confidentially or on condition of future anonymity, could fear retaliation if their cooperation is made public."

Despite their stated concern for victims, the two leaders added: "Here and elsewhere, perpetrators of sexual misconduct should never be shielded from responsibility for their misdeeds."

Mace, who has spoken publicly about her own experiences as a sexual assault survivor, pushed back hard. "Congress has been sweeping this under the rug for far too long," she said in a statement Tuesday (March 3). "Tony Gonzales may be the latest example, but he's not the only one."

After the vote, Mace called the outcome "shameful" and posted on X that "both parties colluded today to protect predators. ... The establishment always protects itself, never the victims."

She also challenged her colleagues directly, telling reporters: "I would like members of Congress to tell their female colleagues where they stand on sexual harassment within the U.S. House of Representatives. Do you support women up here, that work up here, and who are your colleagues, or do you not?"

Thirty-eight Republicans and 27 Democrats voted against referring Mace's resolution to the Ethics Committee — the only votes in support of moving forward with the disclosure effort. Among those who sided with Mace was Rep. Cory Mills (R-Florida), who has faced his own scrutiny over personal conduct.

Separately, on Wednesday (March 4), the Ethics Committee announced it had opened a formal investigation into the allegations against Gonzales. House rules explicitly ban lawmakers from engaging in sexual relationships with staff members in their own offices — a rule added in 2018 in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

In a brief statement, Gonzales said: "I welcome the opportunity to present all the facts to the committee." He has previously called the allegations political smears and stated he will not resign.

However, the investigation's outcome is far from certain. Because the Ethics Committee only has jurisdiction over sitting members of Congress, the probe would end if Gonzales resigned or lost his seat before the report is complete. On Tuesday (March 3), Gonzales was forced into a May runoff election against GOP challenger Brandon Herrera in the Texas primary.

Dan O'Donnell