Lawmakers from both parties are calling for stronger protections for congressional staffers after two members of Congress resigned this week amid sexual misconduct allegations, saying the current system fails to adequately safeguard employees.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who has denied sexual assault allegations, and Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who admitted to an affair with a staffer who died by suicide, both resigned from their seats. The dual departures have sparked renewed scrutiny of how Congress handles workplace harassment.

In response, some female lawmakers have created ad hoc channels for staffers to report misconduct. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., has publicly assured Hill staffers they can bring complaints to her office if they do not feel comfortable going to their own bosses.

Luna said she has received at least one unverified allegation involving a senator, which she flagged to Senate GOP Leader John Thune's office. The matter has since been forwarded to the Senate Ethics Committee, Thune confirmed.

What the Right Is Saying

Conservative and Republican lawmakers are also calling for accountability, with some emphasizing moral leadership and institutional reforms.

Luna is advocating for several changes: imposing a deadline on Ethics Committee investigations, revoking pensions for lawmakers who resign or are expelled over sexual misconduct, requiring more disclosure of congressional harassment settlements, and banning members from having sexual relationships with any congressional staff.

"Ethics needs an entire overhaul," Luna told NBC News. "There also needs to be accountability for if other people knew about sexual misconduct. We can put into the rules: If you knew about it, didn't do anything about it, why are you in a position of power?"

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., encouraged staffers experiencing harassment from members of Congress to come forward to female lawmakers.

"It should be more accessible for women to report any kind of mistreatment, sexual misconduct," Boebert told NBC News. "It should be easier for them to notify someone ... instead of shoving it into the Ethics Committee, which I don't see a lot come out of."

Boebert also suggested colleagues "go to church" and "find Jesus," adding, "Like I mean, why is everybody so horny here?"

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., was blunt in his assessment: "If you think your job is to come to Congress to get laid, you don't belong here. If you think your job is to come here to cheat on your spouse, you don't belong here. And I think it's long past time for there to be a reckoning."

When asked about potential reforms, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the House Ethics Committee is "very busy" and that leadership is "looking at all that."

What the Left Is Saying

Progressive and Democratic lawmakers are emphasizing the need for structural changes to protect staffers, pointing to what they describe as a systemic failure to address harassment.

Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., a member of the House Administration Committee, which oversees workplace issues on the Hill, last year launched a page on her own website where whistleblowers can report sexual harassment, assault or misconduct. She said her team has communicated to other offices that this is a place where staffers can report inappropriate behavior, including by members of Congress.

"The support for these victims is not where it needs to be," said Torres, who added that her office has received complaints from both the judicial and executive branches as well.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., a vocal advocate for survivors of sexual assault and harassment, said the solution includes electing more women to Congress.

"This is a good old boys club where bad behavior by male members of Congress was the norm for over 200 years," Stansbury said. "I think it is part of the evolving need to continue to clean this place up, to expand opportunity and diversity within the body."

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., who has authored bills to combat sexual harassment in the workplace, said reforms are needed because current penalties lack deterrence.

"For punishment to be a deterrent, it needs to be certain, swift and severe. The ethics process is anything but that," she said.

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who has served in Congress for nearly 30 years, said the recent scandals represent a failure of the institution.

"There's a feeling like, we got to do better here. This is unacceptable; it's a stain on this entire institution," McGovern said.

What the Numbers Show

Some reforms were made in 2018 following the #MeToo movement, including requiring more transparency around workplace harassment, annual training for members and their aides, and disclosure of discrimination settlements in congressional offices.

Under the 2018 reforms, members who abuse their staff must pay for their own defense and settlements out of their own pockets — not campaign funds or their office budget.

The House and Senate both have ethics committees that investigate wrongdoing by members of Congress. However, multiple lawmakers in both parties complaint those panels are too slow.

Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., has been under investigation by the Ethics Committee since November over allegations of "sexual misconduct and/or dating violence" and campaign finance violations. He has denied all wrongdoing.

A former Gonzales staffer who accused him of sending explicit text messages said she believed he would have "fired" her for other reasons had she reported him to her superior.

House rules ban lawmakers from engaging in a sexual relationship with staff in their own office or on committees they serve on. However, the rules do not govern lawmakers' relationships with other members' staffers.

The Bottom Line

The resignations of Swalwell and Gonzales have intensified calls for reform from both parties, but it remains unclear whether there is sufficient appetite in Congress to make substantial changes.

Any updates to the rules would likely need to go through the House Administration Committee. Speaker Johnson indicated the House is reviewing the situation but did not commit to specific reforms.

Lawmakers are proposing a range of solutions, from structural changes like deadlines on ethics investigations to calls for more women in Congress. What remains clear is that many members from both parties agree the current system is not working adequately to protect staffers.

The Senate Ethics Committee has received at least one new complaint through the ad hoc reporting channel established by Luna, though that allegation remains unverified.