House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has set off a new rift within the Republican caucus with his latest move to protect former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), now Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, from public scrutiny.
The House Ethics Committee was set to vote Friday on whether to release the results of a lengthy investigation into Gaetz, who has been accused of underage sex trafficking, illicit drug use, campaign finance violations, and other misdeeds. The vote was canceled at the last minute and Johnson told the caucus he didn’t support releasing the report because Gaetz resigned earlier this week and is no longer a member of Congress subject to the committee’s jurisdiction.
“I’m going to strongly request that the Ethics Committee not issue the report,” said Johnson, which CNN’s Annie Grayer noted is exceptionally unusual since the Ethics Committee is meant to operate independently of the speaker.
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Johnson’s announcement divided the House GOP, where Gaetz is broadly unpopular, reported Politico’s Olivia Beavers — with many Trump allies agreeing with Johnson the report should be shelved, but several disagreeing.
“He’s going for a position that is the top law enforcement officer in the country, right?” said Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA). “And you’re telling me, ‘Hey, I’m gonna keep some things over here away from the public?’ That’s exactly what we’re trying to root out in this government.”
He added that the public deserves “transparency.”
Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, sided with Johnson, however, telling reporters, “I think it’s petty… I think that investigation is similar to all the Trump investigations. They all have a political purpose,” and that it’s an “inappropriate” attempt to discredit Gaetz because D.C. insiders in both parties hate him.
All of this comes as some Senate Republicans, where there have also been voices calling for the report to be released, express doubt that Gaetz will get enough votes to be confirmed.
