A House Democrat is now moving forward with plans to try to force his ethics committee to release the report on attorney general nominee and former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.
Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois is expected to introduce a motion in the House of Representatives on Wednesday to force the House Ethics Committee to release the report. The effort would require bipartisan support.
The move comes after the House Ethics Committee tried Wednesday to vote on whether to release the report. The committee, which is made up equally of Democratic and Republican lawmakers, reached an impasse.
“This committee is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans,” said Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, the committee’s ranking member. “To move something positive forward, someone has to cross party lines and vote with the other party – which happens often, by the way. And we often vote unanimously. That did not happen in today’s vote.”
“There was no consensus on this issue. “We agreed that we would meet again as a committee on December 5 to discuss this matter further,” she said.
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Gaetz resigned just two days before the commission was originally set to release the investigation’s findings.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has since said he believes the committee should not release the report because it concerns a now-former member of the chamber.
In the meantime, Republicans in Congress have hinted that it may be difficult to confirm Gaetz as attorney general.
Gaetz was on Capitol Hill with newly elected Vice President J.D. Vance on Wednesday to set up meetings with lawmakers working to shore up support for his nomination.
Confirmation hearings are not expected to begin in earnest until January.
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