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
- ▪In March 2026 the House blocked a broader resolution by Representative Nancy Mace to release all House Ethics Committee sexual misconduct investigation records, voting 357-65-1 to refer it to the Ethics Committee instead.
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
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