House Ethics Committee meeting canceled amid firestorm over Gaetz report

The House Ethics Committee has canceled its meeting set for Friday morning, two sources confirmed to The Hill, as the panel faces increased pressure to release its report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

Gaetz — who has been under investigation by the panel for roughly three years — resigned from Congress on Wednesday, immediately following his nomination by President-elect Trump to serve as attorney general.

Before Gaetz’s nomination, the committee, known for operating in secrecy, had scheduled a Friday meeting to vote on whether to release its long-awaited report into the Florida Republican. Punchbowl News first reported on the meeting, which a source familiar confirmed to The Hill.

On Tuesday evening, the source said the group was still slated to meet.

But Thursday night, the source said plans to meet had been canceled. Republicans on the panel did, however, huddle among themselves that evening, the source said. CNN first reported on the development.

It remains unclear why the Friday meeting was scrapped, and if the panel will gather when the House returns to Washington next week. A spokesperson for the Ethics Committee declined to comment.

“It’s very fluid,” one of the sources said of the situation.

Gaetz’s nomination to be attorney general sent shockwaves throughout Washington, and his resignation put an end to the committee’s investigation — it does not have jurisdiction over former members, raising questions about whether the report would ever be published.

While the panel’s probe into Gaetz has officially ceased, the committee could still release its report into the ex-congressman — a rare move, though one that has some precedent. In 1987, the panel released its report into former Rep. William Boner (D-Tenn.) after he resigned from the House.

Members of the Ethics Committee have been silent about how they will handle the highly anticipated report.

Pressure, meanwhile, is mounting on the panel to release its findings, especially as the Florida Republican prepares to go through the Senate confirmation process to become the next attorney general.

“If he’s going to continue through that process ... I think the ethics report needs to come out,” Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.) told The Hill. “I just don’t want an attorney general who’s compromised, with that kind of a report hanging out there that could be used to compromise him.”

Others, however, say the panel’s findings are futile now that Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress.

“He’s no longer a member. It’s moot to me,” said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chair of the House Armed Services Committee.

The Ethics Committee had been investigating whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other allegations. It launched the probe in 2021.

Updated at 11:04 a.m. EST