House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries appointed a bipartisan task force that will work to reform the way sexual harassment claims are handled in Congress.
The effort will be lead by Republican Rep. Kat Cammack and Democratic Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez. Each of the women is their party’s respective women’s caucus chair.
The announcement comes amid increased scrutiny over how Congress handles allegations of sexual misconduct and growing frustration even among the institution’s own members about the arduous and complicated reporting process for victims. It also comes after two House members — Eric Swalwell, a Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a Republican — resigned after both men faced threats of expulsion from Congress.
Congress has long struggled to police itself even after there was a major overhaul to the way it dealt with sexual harassment and other workplace issues in the wake of the #MeToo movement in 2018.
Since that time, the House Ethics Committee, the only entity with the power to make recommendations to punish members of the House, has also come under the microscope as members have criticized the panel for taking sometimes years to offer recommendations.
