▶ Watch Video: House committee fails to reach agreement on whether to release Matt Gaetz report Washington.
Washington — The House Ethics Committee, meeting to consider the release of a report on its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, did not reach an agreement on Wednesday afternoon, the committee chairman said.
The meeting came one week after the Florida Republican resigned from Congress following President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to select him for attorney general.
House Ethics Committee chairman Michael Guest told reporters that the panel had not reached an “agreement to release the report” as he exited the meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Guest told CBS News that he voted against the release of the report, saying “the committee no longer has jurisdiction on the issue so I disagreed with the release of the information.”
The committee’s other members did not comment on the more than two-hour meeting as they exited.
Rep. Susan Wild, the ranking Democrat on the committee, addressed reporters after Guest’s comments, saying the committee members had agreed not to discuss what transpired at the meeting. She said Guest had “betrayed the process” by disclosing the deliberations, expressing frustration at the implication that there was unanimity among the panel.
Wild said the idea that the committee had reached an agreement not to move forward was “untrue.” She noted that in order to move something forward in the evenly divided committee, a member has to cross party lines and vote with the other side.
“There was no consensus on this issue,” she continued. “We did agree that we would reconvene as a committee on Dec. 5 to further consider this matter.”
Meanwhile, Gaetz and Vice President-elect JD Vance met Wednesday with a number of Senate Republicans in the Capitol as they look to shore up support for his nomination.
