{"id":2574140,"date":"2026-02-26T19:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T00:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-probe-congressional-sexual-misconduct-slush-fund\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T19:45:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T00:45:16","slug":"republicans-probe-congressional-sexual-misconduct-slush-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-probe-congressional-sexual-misconduct-slush-fund\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans probe congressional sexual misconduct \u2018slush fund\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frepublicans-probe-congressional-sexual-misconduct-slush-fund%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2574140&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A new congressional probe led by Rep. Tim Burchett is set to scrutinize allegations of sexual misconduct by lawmakers on Capitol Hill and a \u201cslush fund\u201d used to settle workplace-dispute claims. Burchett, who chairs the subcommittee, says the investigation will focus on payouts related to harassment settlements and push for greater transparency, with hearings planned as part of his agenda to expose misconduct.<\/p>\n<p>The push comes as several Republicans\u2014including Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and Rep. Nancy Mace\u2014call for more disclosure of harassment settlements and for releasing all sexual-harassment complaints held by the Ethics Committee. The inquiry follows revelations about rep. Tony Gonzales and sexually explicit texts to a staffer who died by setting herself on fire, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-trump-national-security-adviser-john-bolton-indicted\/\" title=\"Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton indicted\">prompting renewed scrutiny<\/a> of confidentiality provisions and the 2018 law that requires naming the lawmaker who paid a settlement and ended most confidentiality agreements. Burchett says he will seek settlement-case files from the Office of Compliance, even though the subcommittee lacks subpoena power, and he plans additional hearings on government efficiency and the IRS, framing the effort as a necessary transparency measure\u2014even if it may make some people uncomfortable on Capitol Hill.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">House rebels launch DOGE investigation into congressional sexual misconduct &lsquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/filing-smartmatic-gave-unlawful-gifts-to-la-official\/\" title=\"Filing: Smartmatic Gave Unlawful Gifts To LA Official\">slush fund&#038;rsquo<\/a>;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2517188\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>EXCLUSIVE &ndash; <\/strong>Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4468561\/republican-house-cartels-death-mexico-kingpin\/\">Tim Burchett<\/a> (R-TN) will use one of his first hearings as chairman of the House&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/musk-mtg-and-ramaswamy-to-set-doge-targets-and-goals-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Musk, MTG, and Ramaswamy to ... DOGE targets and goals - Washington Examiner\">government efficiency subcommittee<\/a> to investigate allegations of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/sexual-misconduct\/\">sexual misconduct<\/a> by lawmakers on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\">Capitol Hill<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Burchett told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> he would open an investigation into a &ldquo;slush fund&rdquo; for workplace disputes, including allegations of sexual harassment by members of Congress.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4473312\/nancy-pelosi-political-influence-after-retiring\/\">Nancy Pelosi says she will still have political &#8216;influence&#8217; after retiring<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4473179\/house-dems-say-clinton-deposition-precedent-trump-interview\/\">House Democrats say Clintons&#8217; depositions set precedent for future Trump interview<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4473318\/hillary-clinton-deposition-paused-benny-johnson-lauren-boebert-shares-photo-hearing\/\">Hillary Clinton deposition paused after Benny Johnson shares photo from inside hearing<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>A 2018 bill, passed in the midst of the MeToo movement, updated the law to force lawmakers to foot the bill for those expenses, but the settlements are <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >receiving renewed attention amid revelations<\/a> that Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) allegedly sent <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4467526\/read-tony-gonzales-explicit-texts-late-staffer\/\">sexually explicit texts<\/a> to a staffer who later died by setting herself on fire.<\/p>\n<p>A growing number of House Republicans, many of them women, have denounced Gonzales or called on him to resign over the scandal, including Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/anna-paulina-luna\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11243\">Anna Paulina Luna<\/a> (R-FL), a member of the panel who <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepLuna\/status\/2027043198116200684?s=20\">earlier on Thursday <\/a>asked Burchett to probe the settlements.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview, Burchett called the investigation a matter of transparency and said he would make the payouts the subject of his third hearing since taking over the chairmanship from former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in January. The first hearing, on government duplication, is tentatively scheduled for mid-March, with another related to the IRS in April.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This probably would have been our first meeting, because I think this would be a good one to kick it off, but I think with all the accusations being made now about sexual misconduct, I think it&rsquo;s very timely,&rdquo; Burchett said.<\/p>\n<p>The 2018 law added new reporting requirements to mandate public disclosure, including <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/congress\/congress-passes-overhaul-sexual-harassment-policies-trump-expected-sign-n947616\">naming the lawmaker<\/a> who paid a settlement. It also <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/powerpost\/congress-sends-trump-bill-to-make-lawmakers-liable-for-harassment-settlements\/2018\/12\/13\/cbcdc5fc-fef6-11e8-83c0-b06139e540e5_story.html\">eliminated<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-dismisses-maternal-health-panel-members-after-abortion-deaths-leaked-to-press-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Georgia dismisses maternal health panel members after abortion deaths leaked to press - Washington Examiner\">confidentiality agreements signed<\/a> by accusers. Yet Congress continues to be roiled by allegations of sexual misconduct, leading to calls for mass disclosure.<\/p>\n<p>Rep.<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nancy-mace\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2548\"> Nancy Mace<\/a> (R-SC), who is running for governor of South Carolina, has <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4469209\/nancy-mace-tony-gonzales-sexual-harassment-congress-text-messages\/\">promised to force a vote<\/a> on the House floor that would release all sexual harassment complaints held by the Ethics Committee, not just those leading to a settlement. She is viewing Burchett&rsquo;s investigation <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepNancyMace\/status\/2027048157188600161?s=20\">as a fallback<\/a>, however, if her resolution fails next week.<\/p>\n<p>Burchett, along with Mace, Luna, and other conservative Republicans, is frequently a thorn in the side of congressional leadership and sees the panel as a platform for their legislative priorities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Asked why he chose to pursue an investigation through the Delivering on Government Oversight subcommittee, Burchett replied, &ldquo;Because I&rsquo;m the chairman, and I&rsquo;m not beholden to anybody.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re a dirtbag, you need to be exposed,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4473178\/john-thune-backs-regime-change-trump-iran-strike\/\"><strong>JOHN THUNE BACKS REGIME CHANGE AS TRUMP MULLS IRAN STRIKE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Buchett lacks subpoena power, limiting what he can accomplish on the panel. He has also not discussed the matter with Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/james-comer\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1931\">James Comer<\/a> (R-KY), who oversees the panel as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.<\/p>\n<p>But Burchett is promising to use his chairmanship to uncover further misconduct on Capitol Hill and will try to obtain the settlement case files kept by the Office of Compliance.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s going to leave a lot of people uncomfortable,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GOP probes lawmakers&#8217; misconduct slush fund<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2651,"featured_media":2574141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-collage-hrodpv80m-1772146042188-e1772149552400.jpg?1772128229&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[4402,8327,3756,74381,74688],"class_list":["post-2574140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-congress","tag-investigations","tag-republicans","tag-sexual-misconduct-2","tag-slush-fund-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-collage-hrodpv80m-1772146042188-e1772149552400.jpg?1772128229&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2651"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2574140"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2574144,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574140\/revisions\/2574144"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2574141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2574140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2574140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2574140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}