Congress spent years demanding you see the Epstein files.
But 357 members of Congress voted to make sure you never see theirs.
Nancy Mace forced them to go on the record – and now you know exactly who they are.
How 357 Members of Congress Voted to Keep Sexual Harassment Records Sealed
Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a simple resolution.
Force the House Ethics Committee to release all files on sexual misconduct investigations involving members of Congress.
Redact the victims' names.
Keep the predators' names visible.
357 members – Republicans and Democrats together – voted to kill it.
Sixty-five members had the spine to vote yes.
The bipartisan Ethics Committee issued a joint statement warning the resolution would "chill victim cooperation and witness participation in ongoing and future investigations."
That's Washington-speak for: we'd rather protect the accused than the public.
Mace didn't mince words after the vote.
"Both parties colluded today to protect predators," she said. "Every member who voted against this resolution voted to protect the cover-up instead of the victims."
She's right.
The Tony Gonzales Staffer Scandal That Triggered the Vote
The vote didn't happen in a vacuum.
Soon-to-be-former Rep. Tony Gonzales – a married Texas RINO with six children – sent explicit texts to his regional director Regina Santos-Aviles.
He asked for a "sexy pic."
He asked about her "favorite position."
She told him twice: "This is going too far, boss."
He kept going.
Santos-Aviles died in September 2025 after setting herself on fire at her Uvalde home.
Her widower released the texts.
The San Antonio Express-News, which had endorsed Gonzales, pulled its endorsement.
Gonzales admitted to the affair on March 4 – the same morning the Ethics Committee announced its investigation – then blamed the timing on a political smear campaign and accused the widower of attempting extortion.
Hours later, 357 of his colleagues voted to make sure Ethics Committee files like his never see daylight.
This wasn't Republicans protecting a Republican.
This was the establishment protecting itself – the same reflex, the same result, every single time, regardless of party.
Mace called it exactly what it was: "The loudest voices screaming 'Release the Epstein Files' just voted to bury the sexual harassment files of Members of Congress."
Congress Has Paid Out Millions in Taxpayer-Funded Sexual Harassment Settlements
This isn't new.
Between 1997 and 2018, Congress quietly funneled taxpayer money through the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights – paying out settlements on sexual misconduct claims with zero public disclosure of who did what to whom.
The total topped $18 million before the rules changed in 2018.
Rep. John Conyers used his congressional office budget to pay $27,000 to settle a harassment claim – completely off the books.
Rep. Blake Farenthold had $84,000 in taxpayer money used to settle a claim against a former communications director, promised to pay it back, and never did.
Rep. Alcee Hastings subjected a female employee to two years of unwanted advances – and seven of the eighteen members on his own panel told reporters they hadn't known about the settlement until they read about it in the press.
The pattern is always the same: misconduct happens, the Ethics Committee buries it, the member denies it, taxpayers foot the bill.
The rules changed in 2018 specifically because the public found out and demanded accountability.
Now they want to go right back to the darkness.
Nancy Mace Won the Subpoena That Could Expose the Slush Fund
Here's what 357 members of Congress were actually afraid of.
Mace lost the floor vote – but minutes later she won a separate one.
The House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights for every settlement paid out before 2018.
Before the rules changed.
Before members were required to pay out of their own pockets.
Before anyone had to put their name on anything.
Those records exist.
They have dollar amounts, dates, and the names of the congressional offices that paid.
When that subpoena is fulfilled, Americans will find out which members used taxpayer money to quietly bury harassment claims while standing at a podium pretending to care about accountability.
Some of those members almost certainly voted on Wednesday to keep the Ethics files sealed.
The establishment blocked Mace's resolution because they thought it was the whole fight.
It wasn't.
She already won the one that matters.
Sources:
- "House Blocks Release of Lawmakers' Misconduct Reports," Real Truth Media, March 5, 2026.
- "House Squashes Effort to Force Release of Ethics Files," Roll Call, March 4, 2026.
- "Tony Gonzales Admits Affair With Aide Who Died by Suicide," Texas Tribune, March 4, 2026.
- "This Is Going Too Far: Husband of Rep. Tony Gonzales' Former Aide Shares Texts," KSAT Investigates, February 23, 2026.
- "$18.2 Million Congressional Slush Fund for #MeToo Claims," House Judiciary Committee Document, 2024.
- "Here Are the 7 Congressmen Accused of Sexual Misconduct Since #MeToo," Roll Call, April 2018.
- "House Effectively Kills Mace Push to Release Sexual Misconduct Reports," Newsweek, March 5, 2026.
