The House voted Wednesday to effectively kill a resolution to force more public disclosure of allegations of sexual misconduct among its ranks.
The 357-65 vote was technically on a motion to refer the resolution to the House Ethics Committee, but the panel has come out in opposition to the measure, so it is unlikely to take it up.
Rep. Nancy Mace, South Carolina Republican who introduced the resolution, expressed frustration with the outcome, even though she had expected the measure to fail.
“Both parties colluded today to protect predators,” she said. “They voted to keep sexual harassment records buried … to protect the cover-up instead of the victims. This is the establishment in action.”
Ms. Mace’s resolution sought to force the House Ethics Committee to publicly release all documents and investigative material it has on lawmakers accused of sexual misconduct, with redactions of any personally identifiable information of alleged victims.
House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest, Mississippi Republican, and ranking member Mark DeSaulnier, California Democrat, issued a joint statement ahead of the vote expressing concern that the resolution “could chill victim cooperation and witness participation in ongoing and future investigations.”
“Victims may be retraumatized by public disclosures of interim work product, excerpts of interview transcripts, and certain exhibits,” they said. “And witnesses, who often only speak to the Committee confidentially or on condition of future anonymity, could fear retaliation if their cooperation is made public.”
Bipartisan majorities, 175 Republicans and 182 Democrats, voted for the motion to quash the measure.
Only 38 Republicans and 27 Democrats voted against the motion, signaling they agreed with the forced disclosure of the records.
Rep. Brad Knott, North Carolina Republican, voted present.
The records that the resolution sought to disclose are related to alleged violations of two provisions of the House code of conduct.
One is an anti-discrimination provision that bars sexual harassment.
The other prohibits lawmakers from engaging in unwelcome sexual advances toward House employees or other members. That provision also bars lawmakers from having a sexual relationship with any House staff member who works under their supervision or for a committee on which they serve.
Ms. Mace said the resolution was sparked by allegations that Rep. Tony Gonzales, Texas Republican, had an affair with one of his aides who died last year by self-immolation but said he is “just the tip of the iceberg.”
Mr. Gonzales has denied having an affair with the aide, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles. But text messages her widower’s lawyer released last week show Mr. Gonzales sending sexually explicit texts to Ms. Santos-Aviles that made her uncomfortable.
The House Ethics Committee announced Wednesday ahead of the vote that it opened an investigation into the allegations against Mr. Gonzales. He voted to quash the resolution that would have disclosed more information about that investigation.
Mr. Guest and Mr. DeSaulnier said the Ethics Committee strives to maximize information sharing on its investigations while respecting the confidentiality of victims, whistleblowers and witnesses and the right to due process for the accused.
“Regardless of party affiliation, there is a shared view that sexual harassment and workplace misconduct in particular have no place in the halls of Congress,” they said. “Here and elsewhere, perpetrators of sexual misconduct should never be shielded from responsibility for their misdeeds.”
While the Ethics Committee leaders made clear they opposed Ms. Mace’s sweeping approach to accountability, they said they remained open to improving the panel’s investigative processes and “considering ways to more swiftly bring accountability to bear.”
Ms. Mace called the vote an “abject failure” — but she did win another vote minutes later in the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, which agreed to subpoena records from Congress’ Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to expose past settlements paid to settle sexual harassment claims against lawmakers.
“This thing has to pass,” Ms. Mace pleaded with colleagues.
It did pass, on a voice vote, overcoming grumblings of some lawmakers that it risked exposing victims.
The workplace office had reportedly paid out more than $18 million in claims, both for lawmakers and other Capitol Hill employees, until a rules change in 2018 forced members to pay settlements out of their own pockets.
• Stephen Dinan contributed to this story.
