The House officially appointed members to the Ethics Committee on Tuesday — months into the new Congress and with unresolved baggage still lingering.
The committee will once again be chaired by Rep. Michael Guest, the Mississippi Republican who oversaw the fraught release of the report that detailed the panel’s investigation into embattled former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.
That report was made public after Gaetz had already resigned but was under consideration to serve as U.S. Attorney General, and committee members were under pressure to break with precedent and share the findings. Normally, once a lawmaker leaves Congress, an Ethics Committee probe closes and its conclusions are not disclosed.
New Republican members assigned to the Ethics Committee will be Reps. Nathaniel Moran of Texas and Ashley Hinson of Iowa.
Democratic leadership tapped Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Texas to join the committee, and selected Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.) as the new ranking member.
Returning members include Reps. John Rutherford (R-Fla.), Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), Veronica Escobar (D-Tex.), Deborah Ross (D-N.C.) and Glenn Ivey (D-Md.).
Committee appointments are just one step in allowing the panel to begin its work: Members will meet to formally organize after the congressional recess, allowing them to launch investigations — or re-launch inquiries held over from the previous legislative session.
