House Votes to Publicly Release Records of Taxpayer-Funded Sexual Misconduct Settlements Involving Members

Jun 30, 2026

The House of Representatives voted 420-0 on June 30, 2026, to pass a resolution by Representative Thomas Massie requiring the public disclosure of taxpayer-funded sexual misconduct settlements involving lawmakers. Representative Nancy Mace cast the sole "present" vote, calling the measure redundant political theater after her prior Oversight Committee subpoena exposed over $330,000 in settlements. The vote follows the 2026 resignations of Representatives Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales amid misconduct allegations.

House sexual misconduct settlement vote

▪Representative Thomas Massie forced the floor vote on the transparency resolution as a question of privilege, bypassing House leadership.
▪The House of Representatives voted 420-0 on June 30, 2026, to approve a resolution requiring the public release of records on taxpayer-funded sexual misconduct settlements involving lawmakers.
▪The House vote occurred immediately before the chamber scheduled its July 4 recess, with ten lawmakers failing to vote amid a conservative floor blockade.

Massie transparency resolution requirements

▪The resolution directs the House Ethics Committee and the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to preserve and publicly release records of sexual misconduct settlements involving lawmakers.
▪Representative Thomas Massie limited the scope of the resolution to avoid chilling victim cooperation while broadening the definition of sexual misconduct claims to catch undisclosed cases.
▪The resolution requires the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights and the House Ethics Committee to release a single consolidated list of members who paid settlements within 60 days.

Mace prior disclosure efforts

▪Representative Nancy Mace subpoenaed the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights in March 2026, releasing settlement documents in May 2026 showing over $330,000 paid out since the early 2000s.
▪The House rejected a broader resolution by Representative Nancy Mace in March 2026 to release all House Ethics Committee sexual misconduct investigation records by a vote of 357-65-1.

Mace present vote opposition

▪Representative Nancy Mace was the sole lawmaker to vote present on Representative Thomas Massie's resolution, labeling the vote as political theater because she had already released similar records.
▪Representative Nancy Mace argued that Representative Thomas Massie's resolution was redundant and did not differ from the results of her prior Oversight Committee subpoena.

Past settlement cases named

▪Former Representatives Blake Farenthold and Patrick Meehan, who both resigned in 2018, were named in subpoenaed documents as having used taxpayer funds to settle sexual harassment claims.
▪Former Representatives Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales resigned from Congress in 2026 following allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual assault.

West allegations against Massie

▪Cynthia West, a former girlfriend of Representative Thomas Massie, accused Massie of emotional abuse in May 2026.
▪Cynthia West alleged that Representative Thomas Massie offered her $5,000 to drop a wrongful termination lawsuit against Representative Victoria Spartz.