House Speaker requests ethics panel to withhold report on Matt Gaetz allegations

House Speaker Mike Johnson has requested that the House Ethics Committee not release a report on sexual misconduct allegations against former Rep. Matt Gaetz. Johnson argues that investigating former members sets a bad precedent, as the committee's focus should be on current members. Senate leaders from both parties are interested in reviewing the Ethics Committee's findings regarding Gaetz, especially after his recent resignation. They believe the information could be relevant to his nomination as attorney general. The Ethics Committee had planned to vote on releasing the report but postponed the meeting. Previous investigations into Gaetz included allegations of sex trafficking, which he has denied, calling them false.