Two high-profile congressional resignations this week have reignited calls for sweeping reforms to how Capitol Hill handles workplace sexual misconduct, with lawmakers acknowledging that the current system leaves staffers with few safe places to report abuse.
The departures of former Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat who faced sexual assault allegations he denies, and former Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican who admitted to an affair with his staffer Regina Santos-Aviles that preceded her suicide, have forced uncomfortable conversations about institutional failure among members in both parties.
"There's a feeling like we got to do better here. This is unacceptable; it's a stain on this entire institution," said Rep. Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat who has served nearly three decades in Congress.
The core problem is structural. Unlike most workplaces, Capitol Hill has no central human resources department. Each member runs their office independently, meaning harassment complaints often must be addressed within the same office where the misconduct occurred, creating an obvious conflict of interest. The House and Senate ethics committees technically handle investigations of member wrongdoing, but lawmakers across party lines say these bodies move too slowly to prevent ongoing harassment.
Faced with this vacuum, some female lawmakers have begun operating their own informal reporting channels. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, publicly invited Hill staffers to report complaints to her office after the recent scandals. She says her office has already received at least one unverified allegation involving a senator, which she forwarded to Senate Republican Leader John Thune's office and eventually the Senate Ethics Committee.
Rep. Norma Torres, a California Democrat on the House Administration Committee, created a whistleblower page on her personal website where staffers can report sexual harassment, assault, or misconduct by members or other congressional employees. Her office has received complaints from workers in the judicial and executive branches as well.
"The support for these victims is not where it needs to be," Torres said. She emphasized that while each member's office should provide its own support system, staffers who lack that protection should know there is an alternative.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, also acknowledged the problem, telling NBC News that reporting mechanisms should bypass the ethics committee entirely. "It should be more accessible for women to report any kind of mistreatment, sexual misconduct," she said. "It should be easier for them to notify someone instead of shoving it into the Ethics Committee, which I don't see a lot come out of."
A former Gonzales staffer who accused him of sending explicit text messages said in an interview that she felt unable to report him to her supervisor without risking her career. She expressed particular concern for younger, less experienced staffers. "Do I wish that there was someone I could have gone to that would have listened and not labeled me the problem child? Yes," she said.
Several lawmakers are now pushing specific reforms. Luna is advocating for time limits on ethics investigations, revocation of pensions for members who resign over sexual misconduct, broader disclosure of harassment settlements, and a blanket ban on sexual relationships between any member and any congressional staff. Currently, rules prohibit members from engaging in relationships with their own staff or staff on committees they serve on, but allow relationships with other members' staffers, creating what advocates view as a problematic power dynamic.
Rep. Laura Friedman, a California Democrat who led successful sexual harassment reforms in the state legislature after the MeToo movement, agrees that the loophole should be closed. "You still have a power imbalance with senior staff and members of Congress being able to basically pursue relationships with staff in other people's offices," she said.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat who has authored workplace harassment legislation, framed the urgency of reform in simple terms. "For punishment to be a deterrent, it needs to be certain, swift and severe. The ethics process is anything but that," she said.
Some changes were adopted in 2018 following the MeToo movement, including mandatory workplace harassment training, increased transparency around settlements, and the requirement that members pay for their own legal defense and settlement costs from personal funds rather than campaign or office budgets. But lawmakers say these measures have not gone far enough.
Rep. Cory Mills, a Florida Republican, has been under ethics investigation since November over allegations of sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations. He has denied all charges and argued his case differs from Swalwell's and Gonzales' because he is not accused of relationships with his own staff. This week, colleagues publicly urged the ethics committee to expedite his case in light of the recent resignations.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, offered limited commitments to change. When asked about reform, he said the chamber is "looking at all that" and that the ethics committee remains "very busy." He emphasized that members must "maintain decorum" and uphold the dignity of their offices, but stopped short of endorsing specific proposals.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a New Mexico Democrat and sexual assault survivor advocate, offered a blunt assessment of the problem. "This is a good old boys club where bad behavior by male members of Congress was the norm for over 200 years," she said. "Elect more women."
Author Sarah Mitchell: "The question isn't whether Capitol Hill needs an overhaul on sexual misconduct, it's whether members will actually bite the bullet and implement one."
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