Johnson vows to “exact punishment” on “predators” in Congress

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) vowed Wednesday to “exact punishment” on “predators” in Congress following the resignations of Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX) amid sexual misconduct scandals.

“The question is what more could the House do to protect staffers from predators. You didn’t say that, I said it,” the speaker said at a press conference. “Look, some of the allegations that have been made, and apparently some of the facts that are coming out to verify those allegations, are shocking to us as they are to all of you, and they must be addressed.”

The speaker said the House had “tightened up” ethics rules and that leadership would “continue to be as aggressive as possible” to ensure lawmakers comply with rules and laws.

“We will bring exact punishment upon those who violate that sacred obligation they have to be a good steward and a boss over their staffs and to not use that position for that kind of terrible activity,” he said. “I don’t know what else to say about it other than it’s detestable.”

The two lawmakers resigned from the House on Tuesday, avoiding potential attempts to expel them from Congress after Mr. Gonzales admitted to having an affair with a staffer, who later died by self-immolation, and numerous women accused Mr. Swalwell of sexual assault.

Speaker Johnson also noted that the Ethics Committee would soon vote on a punishment for Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) after finding her guilty of dozens of ethics violations, and said he supported her expulsion from the chamber.

“I suspect that that may be expulsion. In my view, that would be appropriate there,” he said. “It is a rare penalty. It’s only happened so far six times since 1789, but these times call for desperate measures, right?”

#mikejohnson #tonygonzalez #ericswalwell #cspan