Nearly all members of Congress, 357 Republicans and Democrats, don’t want taxpayers to know which members have used taxpayer funds to pay sexual harassment claims.
An untold number of members of Congress have spent a combined roughly $17 million of taxpayer money to settle sexual harassment claims made against them, according to House records, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, says.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-SC, this week proposed forcing a vote on a resolution she filed directing the U.S. House Committee on Ethics to “preserve and publicly release all records related to investigations into Members of Congress for sexual harassment, unwelcome sexual advances, and sexual assault under House rules.”
“Congress has been sweeping this under the rug for far too long. Tony Gonzales may be the latest example, but he’s not the only one,” Mace said, referring to U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-TX, who is refusing to resign after months of denying he had an affair with his former staffer, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, who later killed herself.
Gonzales, who is running for reelection, received roughly 42% of the vote and heads to a runoff. As constituents continue to call for him to resign, he admitted to the affair on Wednesday on a podcast saying he “made a mistake, had a lapse in judgment and a lack of faith.”
The admission, critics argue, is too late. The Office of Congressional Conduct had been investigating Gonzales for months, the San Antonio Express-News reported. The news outlet also published text messages sent between Gonzales and Santos-Aviles in which she said he’d “gone too far,” provided by her husband. Now the House Ethics Committee has opened an investigation.
“Staff deserve to come to work without being harassed by their bosses. Women deserve to be safe,” Mace said. “And the American people deserve to know when their so-called ‘representative’ is abusing power instead of serving their constituents. No more hiding. No more excuses. It’s time to end the cover-up and drag the truth into the light.”
The majority of Congress on Wednesday, 357, disagreed. Nearly all Republicans, 175, and nearly all Democrats, 182, voted to refer the resolution to the committee, essentially killing it. One member voted present not voting, nine didn’t vote, according to the roll call vote.
Those who voted to “refer it to committee” did so knowing the “resolution ain’t ever making it out of committee,” U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, said. Massie has been calling for the release of names for years.
Only 65: 38 Republicans and 27 Democrats, voted in support of the resolution by voting against the motion to refer it to the committee.
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, said she was “disgusted,” saying, “Don’t we all campaign on transparency? Millions of dollars have been used in this slush fund as hush money to silence victims who have been sexually harassed, sexually abused by members of Congress. Now Congress is going to do exactly what it does best: investigate itself. And we know that none of that ever goes anywhere. The American people demand transparency.”
To all the members of Congress that voted today to continue to conceal Congress’s sexual harassment slush fund, go home and tell your daughters what you’ve done. pic.twitter.com/3K84hYOJNs— Rep. Lauren Boebert (@RepBoebert) March 4, 2026
U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-FL, also chastised members for “protecting” Gonzales, arguing they care more about winning elections and keeping a majority in Congress than about victims.
The 357 who voted to send the resolution to the committee “know it’s going to die. We know that members of Congress are using taxpayer dollars to pay off sexual harassment. We just had a member of Congress literally sexually harass someone who lit herself on fire and you guys all protected him. … It’s wrong that we cover up … and won’t censure our own side,” she said.
.@RepLuna: “I think it’s really disgusting how this institution protects itself…we just had a Member of Congress literally sexually harass a woman that then lit herself on fire and you all protected him! You guys all protected him! My own side, your side.” pic.twitter.com/b7M8RaQ4Ru— CSPAN (@cspan) March 4, 2026
After the 357 members voted to keep congressional sexual harassment records buried, Mace said, “Both parties colluded to protect predators. They voted to keep sexual harassment records buried, and they did it together.
“Every Member who voted against this resolution voted to protect the cover-up instead of the victims.”
She warned the American people: “This is the establishment in action, always protecting itself, never the victims. Ask yourself why. Remember their names when they ask for your vote.”
