Lawmakers sound off on push to ban members of Congress from sleeping with staff

Amid sordid reports of lawmakers engaging in sexual relationships with congressional staff, some in the House have proposed legislation to ban the practice outright or severely restrict it.WASHINGTON (CN) — Members of Congress across the aisle offered their support Wednesday for a legislative push to ban their colleagues from having sexual relationships with House staff, amid new reports that some lawmakers slept with Capitol Hill employees and lavished them with unwanted gifts.And some legislators panned what they called a “culture of acceptance” in Congress that’s allowed elected officials to engage in untoward behavior free of consequence.Controversy swirled on Capitol Hill this week amid media reports of ethically questionable behavior from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. North Carolina Representative Chuck Edwards is under fire for reportedly giving custom handguns to two female staffers, at least one of whom accepted the unusual gift out of fear for her employment.And Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego faced criticism amid accusations that he slept with several congressional staffers while serving in the House — though the then-congressman was single at the time of the reported relationships.Still, those revelations and increasing scrutiny on lawmaker conduct have spurred renewed calls for action among members of Congress.Colorado Representative Jeff Crank, a Republican, said Wednesday that he’d introduced a resolution that would “ban” members of Congress from “engaging in sexual relationships with House employees.”“Members should be held to the highest standard, [the] personal conduct of some of my colleagues has undermined public trust in this institution and the legislative process,” Crank said in a statement. “We must do better.”House ethics rules currently forbid members from having sexual relationships with anyone who works for them. The Colorado congressman’s proposed resolution would extend that prohibition to all House employees — though it would include a carve-out for relationships that are first disclosed to the House Ethics Committee.That provision didn’t sit well with the Democratic Women’s Caucus, the congressional voting bloc composed of female House Democrats.“Hate to be the one to tell you this, but if you read your own bill you’d know it’s not even a real ban,” the caucus told Crank in a post on X. “You’re trying to get a headline without fixing the problem.”Florida Representative Kat Cammack, a House Republican sponsoring a similar measure, told reporters on Wednesday she welcomed any attempt to “clean up the culture of creepiness” on Capitol Hill.“It’s a worthwhile effort,” she said of Crank’s resolution. “I commend him for putting that out there — we look forward to working with him on it. I think if people were less concerned with who gets credit and more concerned about getting it done, we’d be a lot further along.”Asked by Courthouse News about the provision in Crank’s offering that made certain member-staffer relationships permissible, Cammack said she was “working through it,” adding she’d spoken with the Colorado congressman. She seemed open to allowing lawmakers to engage in relationships with staff members if they were properly disclosed.“If you disclose it, it shows me you’re pretty serious about the relationship,” she said. “I don’t want the government involved in people’s love lives — but you have seen is a culture of creepiness, where you have members that are soliciting staff, they’re approaching staff, they’re putting them in awkward situations. That’s just wrong.”Some lawmakers on Wednesday bemoaned the fact that it had taken so long for Congress to reckon with the conduct of some of its members.Washington Representative Pramila Jayapal, a member of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, argued there was an implicit and explicit “culture of acceptance” in Congress that had delayed action on the subject.“I think when people don’t get held accountable, when we don’t have clear guidelines, when we don’t follow through and when we don’t listen to women … it lends impunity to people who want to continue to do that,” the Democrat told Courthouse News.“We shouldn’t have to even do this,” said Missouri Representative Eric Burlison, a Republican. “It’s highly inappropriate to have a relationship with a staffer — you’re using a position of power that is disgusting.”Tennessee Representative Tim Burchett told reporters that reports of untoward relationships between lawmakers and congressional staff was “very problematic” and that it “creates a bad problem.”And New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez offered a blunt response when asked by Courthouse News why it had taken so long for Congress to move on banning member-staffer relationships.“Do you know what percentage of Congress is male?” she asked. Roughly 75% of lawmakers are men.The top Democrat added that she thought there was a “generational” factor in the sluggishness of congressional action. “The reality is, whether it’s right or wrong, there haven’t been rules on it,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “I think that we can take a little bit of the stigma out of the conversation and think about how a functional workplace should be.”As of Wednesday evening, House leadership had announced no plans to take up legislation banning member-staff relationships. But House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday said he would be open to supporting such an effort.“I can’t believe it would be acceptable in any situation,” the House speaker told reporters. “You have members of Congress and their subordinates and staff members — I think it’s inappropriate, as it would be in any workplace.”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads