Rep. Nancy Mace is forcing Congress to confront a question the Washington establishment hates: why are lawmakers allowed to keep sexual-harassment investigation records hidden from the public that pays their salaries?
Quick Take
- Mace introduced a House resolution ordering the Ethics Committee to preserve and publicly release congressional sexual-harassment investigation records within 60 days of adoption.
- The push is tied to a widening controversy involving Rep. Tony Gonzales and explicit text messages allegedly connected to a former staffer who died in 2025.
- Several Republicans are calling for Gonzales to resign or exit his primary, while House leadership is urging investigations run their course.
- The resolution uses privileged status, meaning the House would be forced to take it up quickly, putting members on the record.
Mace’s resolution targets Congress’s culture of secrecy
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) filed a resolution directing the House Ethics Committee to preserve and release records and reports from all of its investigations into members for sexual harassment and “unwelcome sexual advances.” The proposal sets a firm deadline: public release within 60 days after the House adopts it. Mace argued the controversy currently swirling around Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) is “just the tip of the iceberg,” signaling she believes more cases exist behind closed doors.
By demanding blanket disclosure rather than a narrow document dump for one case, Mace is challenging an entrenched system that has historically protected lawmakers from scrutiny. That matters for voters who have watched Washington create different rules for itself while lecturing Americans about workplace conduct, “accountability,” and “standards.” The research available does not detail how the committee would handle sensitive identifying information for complainants, so the privacy safeguards and redaction process remain unclear based on the cited materials.
The Gonzales controversy intensifies pressure for transparency
Mace’s resolution landed as allegations involving Rep. Tony Gonzales gained national attention. Reporting described explicit text messages allegedly connected to Gonzales and his former regional director, Regina Santos-Aviles, who died by suicide in 2025. The widower, Adrian Aviles, reportedly released texts in February 2026 as the controversy widened. Gonzales has denied wrongdoing and characterized the situation as political blackmail, but the public record described in the research is limited to those broad defenses.
Several Republicans publicly urged Gonzales to step aside, including Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) also weighing in. In Texas politics, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) called for Gonzales to drop out of the primary. Some House Freedom Caucus members reportedly shifted support toward challenger Brandon Herrera, reflecting how ethics controversies can quickly become electoral liabilities even inside the same party.
Speaker Johnson urges due process as the House faces a fast vote
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has not joined the resignation chorus, emphasizing that ethics processes and relevant authorities should complete investigations before final judgments. That stance aligns with due process concerns many conservatives share, especially after years when accusations were used as political weapons. At the same time, Mace’s approach highlights a second conservative principle: equal justice under the law. If ordinary Americans cannot hide HR findings forever, Congress should not be able to bury investigations indefinitely.
Privileged status puts members on the record, quickly
The resolution’s privileged status is key because it forces a faster timeline for House consideration. That procedural reality changes the political calculus: members who might prefer the issue fade away could be required to vote or take visible steps to stop it. For voters demanding accountability from both parties, a recorded vote is a bright line. The available research does not estimate whether the measure will pass, but it makes one fact unavoidable—many members will have to explain why secrecy is necessary.
Past calls to unseal settlement lists show this fight isn’t new
This is not Congress’s first transparency battle over misconduct. In late 2024, Rep. Massie pushed to release a secret list of lawmakers who used taxpayer funds to settle sexual-harassment claims, and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene joined that effort, according to the reporting cited in the research. Mace’s new resolution expands the scope from settlements to investigative records, which could reveal patterns of behavior and how the institution disciplined, or failed to discipline, members over time.
Mace has also shown a willingness to use formal House tools to confront misconduct claims beyond the Gonzales matter. Her office previously issued a privileged censure resolution targeting Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), describing a set of allegations and concerns that included questions about contracting, record claims, and allegations of violence against women. Those claims are separate from her harassment-records push, but together they underline a broader theme: a faction of Republicans wants public sunlight on internal House discipline instead of closed-door management.
Sources:
https://www.congress.gov/member/nancy-mace/M000194?searchResultViewType=expanded&page=8
