Ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general took a new hit Monday as the House Ethics Committee reportedly set a meeting where it may discuss releasing its report on explosive sex and drugs allegations against him.
With some Republican senators questioning President-elect Trump’s pick, the panel will meet Wednesday to determine what to do with its report that likely includes accounts ofGaetz attending drug-fueled parties including sex with young women, one of whom was reportedly underage.
Although the lurid details have not been released, a deposition in a separate civil suit related to the case said the then-17-year-old high school student recounted a sexual encounter with Gaetz at an Orlando-area house party.
“She had testified that she had sex with Gaetz on an air hockey table,” a lawyer said in court papers for the civil suit, CNN reported.
Another woman who is older than the high school girl said she saw the couple having sex and later also had sex with Gaetz at the same party, according to the court papers.
The House ethics committee has taken testimony from the women and other witnesses for a long-running probe into Gaetz. It was expected to release its completed report on Friday.
Gaetz short-circuited that move by abruptly resigning on Wednesday just as Trump announced his nomination to become the nation’s top law enforcement official.
The panel normally only releases reports on sitting members of Congress, meaning Gaetz’s resignation would usually have caused it to shelve the report for good.
But with Gaetz in line to become attorney general, pressure is rising on the panel to make the report public or at least hand it over to the Senate as it mulls whether to confirm him.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said after meeting Trump that the report should stay secret.
Republicans are expected to hold 53 seats in the incoming Senate, meaning it would likely take four defections to torpedo any Trump nomination.
The incoming president has insisted he may push for so-called recess appointments to get his way if he runs into obstacles.
Current Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who will still be in office but will not be majority leader, reportedly told colleagues Sunday he opposes that idea, which would effectively sidestep the chamber’s power to confirm presidential appointments.
“‘Message to Trump Team: “There will be no recess appointments” Sen. Mitch McConnell said tonight,” New Yorker reporter Jane Mayer tweeted Sunday evening. She later deleted the post without explanation and McConnell hasn’t commented.