Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is set to introduce two pieces of legislation Thursday aimed at prohibiting sexual relationships between House lawmakers and their employees, responding to a wave of scandals that have rocked Capitol Hill in recent months.
The first bill is a House resolution that would bar members from having sex with any employee of the chamber. The second measure would prohibit lawmakers from living with House employees, with an exception for married couples cohabitating together.
"If you're a member of Congress, your priorities should be serving your constituents and this country, not fooling around with staff," Mace told Fox News Digital.
What the Left Is Saying
Democratic leaders have largely remained quiet on Mace's specific legislation but have signaled openness to ethics reforms. The scandals have touched members of both parties, including Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, whose reported past relationships with House staffers were recently made public by the New York Post.
Gallego's defenders have argued he would not have violated any rules because he was unmarried at the time and the staffers did not work directly for him or his office. This framing underscores a broader Democratic argument that existing ethics rules may already cover such conduct but need clearer enforcement mechanisms rather than new laws.
Former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., faced sexual misconduct and rape allegations during his gubernatorial campaign before resigning from Congress. While Swalwell has denied the accusations, he acknowledged making unspecified personal mistakes in a public statement where he apologized to his wife. Some Democrats have pointed to this case as evidence that existing expulsion mechanisms can address severe misconduct without new legislation.
Progressive groups have largely welcomed the conversation around workplace protections on Capitol Hill, though some argue more comprehensive approaches addressing power imbalances are needed beyond just banning specific behaviors.
What the Right Is Saying
"Congress is not your personal dating pool. If you can't do your job without hitting on staff, find another job and leave the women you work with alone," Mace said in her statement to Fox News Digital.
The South Carolina Republican has found allies across the aisle among House Republicans. Reps. Kat Cammack of Florida, Jeff Crank of Colorado, and Lisa McClain of Michigan have all endorsed limits on what relationships House members can have with staff. Cammack and Crank have introduced their own legislation imposing similar restrictions.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has also backed efforts to tighten ethics rules around member-staffer relationships. The support from the speakership gives the effort institutional legitimacy within the Republican caucus.
"No staffer should ever be coming home at night to the person who signs their paycheck," Mace said of her cohabitation ban. "It's inappropriate, it's a conflict of interest, and it should have been banned decades ago."
On the Republican side, Rep. Chuck Edwards of North Carolina is currently being investigated by the House Ethics Committee over sexual harassment allegations he has denied. And Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas was forced to resign his seat after scrutiny mounted over an affair with a staff member who later died by suicide.
What the Numbers Show
The current congressional ethics framework largely relies on the Stopping Abuse and Harassment in Congress Act, passed in 2019, which established reporting mechanisms for misconduct but did not explicitly ban sexual relationships between members and staffers.
Under existing rules, relationships between unmarried lawmakers and staff who do not directly work for them fall into a gray area. The House Ethics Committee has jurisdiction over member conduct but traditionally operates on a case-by-case basis rather than through blanket prohibitions.
Several recent cases have accelerated calls for clearer standards: Swalwell resigned in the face of expulsion threats; Gonzales was expelled after the scandal escalated; Edwards remains under investigation; and Gallego faces public scrutiny though no formal ethics complaint has been filed publicly.
The proposed legislation would represent a significant tightening of House rules, moving from guidance-based enforcement to explicit prohibitions with clear violations.
The Bottom Line
Mace's bills represent the most concrete legislative response yet to a series of scandals that have embarrassed both parties and prompted calls for broader ethics reform on Capitol Hill. With support from Speaker Johnson and multiple Republican co-sponsors, the measures have a realistic path through the House.
However, the legislation faces questions about enforcement and whether it will be paired with additional resources for ethics investigations. Critics on both sides may argue that explicit prohibitions alone are insufficient without robust mechanisms to investigate allegations and protect staffers who come forward.
The broader debate reflects growing scrutiny of power dynamics between elected officials and their employees, an issue that has resonated beyond Washington in the #MeToo era. What remains unclear is whether Congress will settle for targeted bans or pursue comprehensive workplace conduct reforms.