Topline
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has yet to appoint members to the House’s independent ethics board, leaving the office unable to open new investigations—even though Democrats have named their picks and two Republicans have agreed to return.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., conducts a news conference on Tuesday. (Tom … More
Key Facts
The nonpartisan Office of Congressional Conduct (formerly called the Office of Congressional Ethics) reviews misconduct allegations against House members, officers and staff.
The office requires a board—up to six members, split evenly between parties—to approve new investigations.
Without a board, the office can’t initiate or advance new cases and may only work on those previously approved.
The board has been vacant since the start of this Congress in January: Democratic leadership submitted the names of its appointees last week, but Johnson is yet to do likewise.
Two former GOP board members—ex-Rep. Lynn Westmoreland and former House Clerk Karen Haas—have agreed to return, according to a source familiar with the process.
Board appointments only require names to be read aloud in a pro forma session, according to the personal familiar with the process.
Will Johnson Appoint Any Board Members?
His office didn’t respond to requests for comment, and the two Republicans willing to return could not be reached. It remains unclear whether Johnson intends to move forward.
What We Don’t Know
Johnson hasn’t explained why he hasn’t named any board members—or whether he intends to. It’s also unclear whether his delay is a political maneuver or simply reflects a low priority.
What To Watch For
Keep an eye on Johnson’s office to appoint members. Or not, and effectively shut down new ethics investigations for the remainder of the Congress.
Key Background
Created in 2008, the Office of Congressional Conduct was designed to serve as an independent check on House ethics. Republicans have repeatedly tried to weaken it—most notably in 2017, when they proposed essentially eliminating it, and in 2023, when a GOP rules package imposed term limits that immediately ousted Democratic board members but left Republican ones in place.
Big Number
23: That’s the number of preliminary reviews the Office of Congressional Ethics initiated in the last Congress (through September 2024 anyway—without a board, the office is unable to publish the quarterly report that contains the final figures).
Surprising Fact
The Senate has no equivalent to the House’s independent ethics office—its members police themselves. Of the 1,523 complaints submitted to the Senate Ethics Committee between 2007 and 2022, not one resulted in formal disciplinary sanctions, according to a February 2023 Raw Story report.
News Peg
The House GOP’s delay in reactivating its ethics watchdog echoes moves by President Donald Trump to weaken independent oversight across the executive branch. Since returning to office, Trump has fired the Democratic chair of the Federal Election Commission, blocking it from taking any measures that don’t get the unanimous agreement of the four remaining commissioners; dismissed inspectors general at 17 agencies; and issued an executive order asserting presidential supervisory power over formerly independent agencies–including the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of these moves are being challenged in the courts, according to a tracker managed by Just Security, a law and policy journal based at New York University.
Tangent
In December, the House Ethics Committee quietly tweaked its website code to block search engines from indexing its pages—making public reports harder to find. The move was reversed only after Forbes inquired about the change.
Further Viewing
Further Reading
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Is Under Investigation By House Ethics Committee (Forbes)
Why Matt Gaetz’s Resignation May Not Block Release Of Ethics Report (Forbes)
Congressman Spends $540 Of Campaign Money At Insane Asylum (Forbes)
Why Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Book Deal Hasn’t Appeared On Her Financial Disclosures (Forbes)
$61,000 Of Campaign Money To Fight Ethics Investigation (Forbes)
The New Years’ Eve Ethics Massacre (First Branch Forecast)
