WASHINGTON'S #METOO MOMENT

How three Republican lawmakers are leading the drive for sexual conduct accountability in the House

- BY JESUS MESA

FOR MONTHS, A PUSH FOR SEXUAL MISCONDUCT accountability and transparency in Congress has been building inside the House, driven by a group of Republican women with a blunt message: No member is above scrutiny, regardless of party. Representatives Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, and Lauren Boebert of Colorado have spent months pressuring colleagues from both parties, arguing Congress has long failed to police itself over workplace misconduct.

In several cases, that pressure has escalated into direct confrontation between members, reflecting growing fractures inside the House. The dynamic has made the fight over misconduct not only institutional, but increasingly personal.

On April 13, both Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Representative Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, announced they would step down amid sexual misconduct allegations and the growing prospect of expulsion votes.

Their departures marked one of the most visible accountability moments since the height of the #MeToo movement, when allegations of abuse and harassment reshaped careers across Hollywood.

Lawmakers describe the juncture as the culmination of a pressure campaign that has been building across partisan lines. The congresswomen's push has expanded from individual resignation demands to broader efforts to force disclosure of internal ethics findings and subpoena congressional records. "Our subpoena motion will put it all on the table," Mace said in a statement to Newsweek. "Swalwell and Gonzales are only two out of 435. We want to know what every member of Congress is hiding and using taxpayer dollars to keep buried."