A Week of Scandal, Reckoning and Resignations in Congress

Key Takeaways

• •

  Santos's expulsion set a new precedent for removal

  “Before Santos, only five people in the history of the house had been expelled. Three of them were kicked out because they fought for the Confederacy against The United States, which was basically seen as an act of treason. And two of them had been convicted of felony charges, and their trials had gone through the whole process, and they had been convicted. When the house is pressed and when it feels like there's urgency, Santos' expulsion shows it will find a way to get rid of people who it thinks should not be in its midst.”

• •

  Ethics investigations often provide political cover for delays

  “Traditionally, ethics committee investigations move very slowly. It's kind of known by lawmakers that when something gets kicked over to the House Ethics Committee, it's gonna take a while for it to be resolved. And it's kind of a way for everyone to get some cover and say, well, we're investigating this, but we need to give this investigation time to play out. And there needs to be some due process, and then we'll deal with the issue.”

• •

  Tony Gonzalez resigned following a coercive staffer affair

  “In 2018, the house passed a rule that forbid its members, expressly from having affairs with their own staff. And Gonzalez violated that rule, and he admits to violating that rule. He comes out and says, I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith. I'm gonna end my reelection campaign because I have lost the trust in my voters, so I can't run for office again.”

• •

  Slim majorities hinder the expulsion of problematic members

  “At this point, Speaker Mike Johnson is looking at a very narrow majority in the House. If he wants to pass through major legislation, he can really only afford to lose one or two votes. And losing Gonzalez would make it even harder for him to push through major agenda items. And so there are a lot of questions about whether this is a question of due process, or is this about politics?”

• •

  Congress is struggling with internal accountability standards

  “I've been thinking a lot about what's happening on the hill this week. And for me, this is a story about the way that congress chooses or doesn't choose to police itself. I think what we're seeing this week is extraordinary. Two members of the house resigning within an hour of each other after a lot of pressure. But it took us a while to get to this point, and I think the way that it happened really says a lot about kind of the intersection between our politics and the way we expect our politicians to behave.”

Episode Description

This week, Congress was on the cusp of doing something that has never happened in U.S. history: forcibly removing four House members. Two of those members resigned. Michael Gold, who covers Congress, explains what unfolded on Capitol Hill, and what the events tell us about how willing Congress is to hold itself accountable. Guest: Michael Gold, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading:  Senator Ruben Gallego admitted he had long heard, but disbelieved, rumors of impropriety involving Eric Swalwell. Mr. Swalwell resigned after allegations that he sexually assaulted a former staff member and engaged in misconduct with other women. Photo: Michael McCoy for The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.