The House Republican caucus faces a new fight as Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) prepares to force a vote to expose all reports of alleged sexual misconduct by sitting members of Congress.
According to NBC News, "The South Carolina congresswoman’s resolution would require the House Ethics Committee to release all sexual misconduct or harassment reports involving members or their staffers. She introduced it after numerous outlets, including NBC News, revealed that GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, sent sexually explicit text messages to a former aide with whom he allegedly had an affair. The aide later died by suicide and an attorney for her husband confirmed the authenticity of the texts to NBC News."
Gonzales, who denies the allegations, now faces a number of calls to resign by members of his own party, which he has resisted. Should he resign, Republicans would sit at just 217 members, making already razor-thin votes to pass GOP leadership's priorities even more difficult.
Mace, who has faced scandals of her own over her erratic behavior, has previously considered resigning over the Republican caucus's treatment of women.
"Mace said that she has been in contact with the parliamentarian about her resolution and that she has one tweak to make before she can file it as 'privileged.' She is planning to make that motion March 4," said the report. "Once she does, the House Republican leadership will have two legislative days before it must schedule a floor vote. That could be a vote on Mace’s resolution itself — which would put members on the record on releasing sexual harassment and assault reports involving colleagues — or another vote to table the legislation or send it to committee."
She told NBC News she doesn't have faith in her own party to back her measure, saying, “When are we going to start policing our own? We haven’t done that yet because both sides protect each other from embarrassment.”
