Senate Republicans concerned with Gaetz nomination ask to access House ethics probe

Senators are calling for access to a House Ethics Committee probe into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., following his nomination to be the next Attorney General under president-elect Donald Trump. Mario Tama/Getty Images/Getty Images North America hide caption

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Mario Tama/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

Matt Gaetz's nomination to be the next attorney general could face an uphill path in the Senate, as a growing number of Republican senators are calling for access to a House Ethics Committee probe into Gaetz's conduct.

Gaetz resigned from the House Thursday, a day after President-elect Trump announced his nomination. That ends a House Ethics Committee investigation into sex trafficking and drug use allegations against Gaetz that began in 2021.

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the current chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on the House ethics panel Thursday to "preserve and share" their report and other information gathered on Gaetz.

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who recently lost the race for Senate Majority Leader, but is a senior member of the Judiciary panel, told reporters on Thursday that the Senate "should gain access to all relevant information by whatever means necessary," including a possible subpoena of the ethics report.

"I don't think any of us want to fly blind," he told reporters in the Capitol. "Part of this is to protect the president against information or surprises coming out later that he and his team weren't aware of."

Cornyn admitted he does not know if the Senate has the power to demand records from the House, but he joins a number of Senators who are pushing to know the details of the Ethics Committee investigation as part of the confirmation hearing process.

The House Ethics committee initially planned to meet on Friday but it is unclear if the meeting will still proceed, according to a source familiar with the process who was grated anonymity to speak about private discussions. It is possible the panel was planning to vote during that meeting to release its report on Gaetz.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said Gaetz's nomination "will be one of those that will be well-scrutinized."

"It'll be a fine tooth comb, and they knew that going in," Tuberville told reporters Thursday.

Tuberville added that "I'm a Matt Gaetz fan because I've know him for a long time."

Other Republicans Senators sidestepped questions about Gaetz. Arkansas GOP Sen. Tom Cotton simply said "no comment." Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, asked about Gaetz, instead praised another Trump nominee, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, getting on the Senate subway told NPR "Elise is amazing!" But as the subway car pulled away she said about Gaetz, "he has an uphill battle."

Cornyn, pressed if anything he's heard about Gaetz raised any issues about his nomination told reporters he's just read press reports and "I don't know the man."