BETHLEHEM, Pa. — U.S. Rep. Susan Wild may be a lame duck, but she's in the epicenter of an intensifying fight over an investigation into U.S. attorney general-nominee Matt Gaetz.
Gaetz, a Florida Republican, resigned his U.S. House seat last week hours after President-elect Donald Trump tapped the self-described firebrand conservative to lead the Justice Department.
Political observers have questioned whether Gaetz's resignation was intended to stymie a three-year House Ethics Committee investigation.
The committee, the only one in the House with equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats, announced in 2021 that it was investigating Gaetz for allegations of "sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct."
"In order to affirmatively move something forward, somebody has to cross party lines and vote with the other side."Susan Wild
The committee's report was nearing completion when Gaetz resigned, and questions have emerged on whether it will be released now that he is no longer a House member. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has pressured the committee not to release the report, saying Congress should not investigate private citizens.
The secretive committee met for about two hours Wednesday, after which U.S. Rep. Mike Guest, R-Miss. and the committee chair, told reporters there was no agreement to release the report. Wild, the committee's ranking Democrat, later clarified that a vote was taken but no consensus was reached.
"In order to affirmatively move something forward, somebody has to cross party lines and vote with the other side," Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, said in a news conference in Washington. "That did not happen in today's vote."
The committee will reconvene Dec. 5 to review the Gaetz probe, Wild said. She did not provide details on the investigation and would not clarify if it's been completed.
National outlets are reporting that the committee reviewed the evidence and heard testimony that Gaetz used the app Venmo to pay two adults $10,000 for sex across 27 transactions.
While it's unusual for the House Ethics Committee to release reports on former members, there is precedent. Former U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, Wild's predecessor and a former Republican chair of the House Ethics Committee, noted in an MSNBC column this week that it has issued reports on former members accused of wrongdoing, including a case involving sexual misconduct.
Gaetz has made a name for himself as a disrupter in Congress and a vocal ally of Trump. The 42-year-old was a ringleader in the right-wing revolt against former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in October 2023. Once McCarthy was ousted, it took three weeks for the divided House to settle on Johnson as the new speaker. No other business could be conducted during that period.
It's unclear how many allies Gaetz has in Congress, which could impede his nomination.
His penchant for fighting his party's own leadership and his history of incendiary comments have drawn rebukes from fellow Republicans as well as Democrats. Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Chuch Grassley, R-Iowa, said they want to review the House Ethics Committee's findings while considering his nomination. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has said Gaetz is not a serious candidate to become the nation's top law enforcement officer.
The Justice Department under the first Trump administration announced it had opened an investigation into Gaetz on allegations he paid teenagers for sex and drugs. Gaetz denies the allegations, and the Justice Department under the Biden administration closed the probe without pressing charges.
Trump, who has been charged with attempting to overturn the 2020 election, has vowed to use the Justice Department to prosecute his rivals and accused career prosecutors of engaging in political witch hunts. Gaetz leveled similar accusations in the wake of his criminal investigation, accusing the department of being corrupt and partisan.
Wild lost her bid for a fourth term earlier this month to state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh.
The former Allentown solicitor made a name for herself in local politics for assisting the FBI in its investigation into pay-to-play allegations against then-Mayor Ed Pawlowski. Pawlowski was later sentenced to 15-years in federal prison on 47 charges, including bribery and attempted extortion.
