--- title: Sexual Misconduct Allegations in Congress Grow Amid Epstein Probe description: The scrutiny under Congress is the most intense since the height of the #MeToo movement, raising questions about reforms from nearly a decade ago made a difference. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/05/11/congress-sexual-misconduct-epstein-metoo/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-05-11T13:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T19:31:56.657Z article:section: Politics og:title: Sexual Misconduct Allegations in Congress Grow Amid Epstein Probe og:description: The scrutiny is the most intense since the height of the #MeToo movement, amid fresh allegations of lawmakers exploiting the vast power they wield over those who work for them. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/05/11/congress-sexual-misconduct-epstein-metoo/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c6289eadf30a699/69fe4c92a3b63760bf773ed4/congress-epstein-sexual-misconduct-allegations.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: congress-epstein-sexual-misconduct-allegations.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sexual Misconduct Allegations in Congress Grow Amid Epstein Probe twitter:description: The scrutiny is the most intense since the height of the #MeToo movement, amid fresh allegations of lawmakers exploiting the vast power they wield over those who work for them. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c6289eadf30a699/69fe4c92a3b63760bf773ed4/congress-epstein-sexual-misconduct-allegations.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Congress Faces New Wave of Sexual Misconduct Allegations Amid Epstein Probe—Nearly a Decade After #MeToo  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer May 11, 2026 1:00 PM UTC  Photo-Illustration by TIME. Source images: Rick Friedman—Corbis/Getty Images, Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images.  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer May 11, 2026 1:00 PM UTC Congress is facing a renewed wave of [sexual misconduct allegations](https://time.com/article/2026/04/12/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations/), reviving scrutiny of an institution that for years has struggled to prevent lawmakers from exploiting the vast power they wield over the young staff members who work for them. A recent cluster of cases has produced the most intense scrutiny of sexual misconduct on Capitol Hill since the height of the [#MeToo movement](https://time.com/6221110/tarana-burke-me-too-anniversary/), when eight lawmakers resigned in the span of roughly six months amid allegations of harassment, abuse, or inappropriate workplace conduct. This year alone, two members have already left Congress under pressure tied to sexual misconduct allegations, while at least two sitting lawmakers remain under active ethics investigations, reigniting questions about whether Congress truly changed its culture after vowing reform nearly a decade ago. At the time, Congress overhauled parts of its opaque workplace complaint system, ended the use of taxpayer money for future harassment settlements, and created new support structures for staff members seeking legal help. But the latest allegations have exposed persistent doubts about whether those reforms truly changed the culture of Capitol Hill, or merely altered the procedures surrounding misconduct complaints while leaving the underlying power dynamics largely intact. The House Ethics Committee [disclosed](https://ethics.house.gov/press-releases/statement-of-the-committee-on-ethics-regarding-sexual-misconduct-and-workplace-rights/) in April that it has initiated 20 investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct involving House members since 2017\. Yet only 15 of those matters have been [publicly identified](https://ethics.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Historical-Chart-of-Sexual-Misconduct-Matters.pdf). This spring, former Democratic Rep. [Eric Swalwell](https://time.com/article/2026/04/12/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations/) of California and Republican Rep. [Tony Gonzales](https://time.com/7382815/tony-gonzales-texas-congress-reelection-drop-out-primary-affair-staffer/) of Texas became the most high-profile members of Congress to resign following allegations of sexual misconduct since the #MeToo movement began. The House Ethics Committee is also currently investigating allegations against Republican Reps. Cory Mills of Florida and Chuck Edwards of North Carolina. Both men have denied any wrongdoing. The reckoning is unfolding amid national attention on sexual violence fueled by the continuing fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, as public pressure surrounding the release of records tied to the convicted sex offender reignited broader questions about how powerful individuals evade scrutiny and how institutions protect them. Here’s what to know about the allegations. ## Swalwell and Gonzales resignations In April, former Reps. Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales resigned in disgrace amid Ethics Committee investigations that followed months of public reporting and mounting pressure over separate allegations involving sexual misconduct and staff relationships, a violation of House rules. Swalwell, who had been a leading contender in the crowded California governor’s race, faced allegations from multiple women that revealed a pattern of sexual misconduct over several years. Public calls for his resignation grew shortly after the [San Francisco Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/eric-swalwell-allegations-22198271.php) published a story in April featuring a young woman who said she had a sexual encounter with Swalwell while she worked for him and that he later sexually assaulted her twice when she was too intoxicated to consent. At least four other women who accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct also [came forward](https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs). Swalwell dropped out of the governor’s race, and later resigned from Congress on April 14\. He continues to deny the allegations of wrongdoing. Meanwhile, Gonzales was also facing public calls to resign after the [San Antonio Express-News reported](https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/tony-gonzales-texts-regina-santos-aviles-pictures-21362068.php) in February about allegations that he engaged in a sexual relationship with a former congressional staffer in 2024 who later died by suicide. Texts between the woman, Regina Santos-Aviles, and Gonzales showed him making repeated requests for nude photographs and sex. “This is going too far boss,” she said in one text after he asked for a “sexy pic.” Gonzales [acknowledged](https://time.com/7382815/tony-gonzales-texas-congress-reelection-drop-out-primary-affair-staffer/) the affair, a violation of House rules, and later dropped out of the race for re-election as an Ethics Committee investigation was underway. Facing mounting pressure to resign, Gonzales announced shortly after Swalwell that he too would step down April 14.  Reps. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, right, and Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., attend the House Appropriations Committee the markup of the FY2026 Homeland Security bill and the FY2026 Defense bill in Rayburn building on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images ## Ongoing investigations The Ethics Committee investigations into Swalwell and Gonzales ended when they resigned from Congress, allowing the panel to turn its attention to two sitting members of Congress currently under investigation. Rep. Chuck Edwards, Republican of North Carolina, is being investigated over allegations that he engaged in an improper relationship with a subordinate staff member and that the conduct created friction inside his congressional office, lawmakers on the Ethics Committee publicly said in May. The inquiry, which has not yet advanced to the subcommittee stage, centers in part on allegations of a long-term relationship with a senior aide who had worked in his office since he was in the state legislature. House rules prohibit romantic relationships between members and their staff. Edwards has denied wrongdoing. “We welcome the ethics inquiry because it allows for facts to be entered into the record, not public allegations designed to drive media interests,” Edwards said in a statement. The case has already become politically charged within the House GOP conference. Some Republican lawmakers who have been outspoken on misconduct issues have warned that any member accused of inappropriate relationships with staff should face consequences, while others have emphasized the importance of allowing the Ethics Committee process to run its course. The scrutiny has placed Edwards in a politically vulnerable position as he faces a competitive reelection race. Meanwhile, [Rep. Cory Mills](https://time.com/article/2026/04/21/cory-mills-expel-nancy-mace-house-congress-allegations-explainer/), Republican of Florida, has been under formal investigation by the Ethics Committee since November following a broader set of allegations that include sexual misconduct, misuse of office resources, and other potential violations of House rules. The committee has established a special investigative subcommittee to examine whether Mills engaged in conduct that could include improper relationships, financial misconduct, or abuse of his official position. Mills has faced a growing list of allegations beyond Capitol Hill. In one case, a Florida judge issued a restraining order through January 2026 after his former girlfriend accused him of threatening and harassing her following their breakup, including allegations that he threatened to share explicit images. Mills has denied wrongdoing, and no criminal charges have been filed. ## Past investigations by Congress come to light At least two sitting lawmakers had faced House Ethics Committee investigations in recent years but were ultimately not found to have violated House rules, according to new reporting by NOTUS. Democratic Reps. Jim Costa of California and Alma Adams of North Carolina were both the subject of inquiries that examined allegations involving their interactions with staff or interns. NOTUS [reported](https://www.notus.org/congress/chuck-edwards-investigation-ethics-committee) that House ethics officials investigated Costa after a former congressional intern filed a complaint in early 2023 alleging that he made her uncomfortable and behaved inappropriately during a February 2020 encounter at a California State Society event. The woman, then 22 at the time, told investigators that Costa approached her, initiated conversation, and repeatedly asked her to return to the event to dance. She later described a brief exchange in a public area where Costa asked her to “shimmy,” which she said left her uneasy given the power dynamics between a sitting member of Congress and an intern. According to a transcript of her interview with the Office of Congressional Ethics, Costa later gave her his personal phone number on the back of a business card and told her to call him, adding that he could help her career and take her to dinner. The woman said she understood the invitation as implicitly tied to her professional prospects, telling investigators she felt she needed to respond in order to avoid jeopardizing future opportunities. She says she later exchanged text messages with Costa in which he responded to her outreach and asked her to dinner. The woman told investigators she also witnessed another incident in December 2021 in which Costa danced with a different intern at a separate event, which she and another staffer intervened to break up because the intern appeared uncomfortable. Costa denied wrongdoing through a spokesperson, NOTUS reported, and his office said he fully cooperated with the review conducted by the Office of Congressional Ethics and the House Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee ultimately voted to dismiss the matter, according to his office, and said it did not find sufficient evidence to proceed. NOTUS also [reported](https://www.notus.org/congress/alma-adams-ethics-committee-investigation) that Adams was the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations involving her relationship with a senior aide in her congressional office in 2023\. The committee interviewed roughly half a dozen former aides over several months in 2023, both in Washington and in North Carolina, as part of an inquiry that focused in part on Adams’ relationship with her then-deputy chief of staff and district director, Sandra Brown. Former staffers said they were questioned about office dynamics, workplace roles, and whether Brown exercised an outsized influence over operations in Adams’ office. While the precise nature of the relationship has not been established publicly, NOTUS reported that multiple former aides told investigators that Brown appeared to have unusually close access to Adams, including spending extended time at Adams’ apartment and, in some cases, appearing during virtual work calls. Adams’ office told NOTUS that the Ethics Committee closed the matter without finding any violation of House rules or any inappropriate or improper relationship. The committee has not publicly released findings from the investigation. Per [committee rules](https://ethics.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Committee-Rules-for-the-119th-Congress.pdf), investigations must be made public unless both the Office of Congressional Conduct and the Ethics Committee dismiss the case, which it did in both Costa and Adam’s cases. ## The shadow of #MeToo The current moment bears similarities to the upheaval Congress experienced during the #MeToo movement. Beginning in 2017, staff members on Capitol Hill began increasingly speaking out about experiences they said had long been tolerated or ignored. Eight lawmakers ultimately resigned or opted to not seek re-election amid allegations of sexual harassment or related workplace misconduct. That list included Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota, as well as Reps. Joe Barton, Republican of Texas; John Conyers Jr., Democrat of Michigan; Elizabeth Esty, Democrat of Connecticut; [Blake Farenthold](https://time.com/5045238/congress-sexual-harassment-settlements/), Republican of Texas; Trent Franks, Republican of Arizona; Ruben Kihuen, Democrat of Nevada; and [Patrick Meehan](https://time.com/5258424/congressman-pat-meehan-resigns-after-sexual-harassment-settlement/), Republican of Pennsylvania. **Read more:** [The Silence Breakers are TIME’s 2017 Person of the Year](https://time.com/collections/time-person-of-the-year-2017/7375307/time-person-of-the-year-2017-the-silence-breakers/) In the same period, and in the years that followed, other members also came under scrutiny through House Ethics Committee investigations into alleged sexual misconduct. Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who sits on the House Oversight Committee, [publicly revealed](https://x.com/RepNancyMace/status/2051346836250558587) in May that taxpayers paid more than $300,000 in confidential sexual harassment settlements connected to six former House lawmakers or their offices, including Conyers and Meehan. The renewed attention on the topic has also revived longstanding frustrations from victims’ advocates and some lawmakers who argue Congress still lacks a system that staff members trust enough to use. Employees on Capitol Hill do not have a traditional human resources department, lawmakers exercise near-total control over their offices, and congressional employees are not covered by the same whistleblower protections that shield many executive branch workers. All of that, advocates say, has helped create an atmosphere in Congress in which staff members often fear retaliation or career damage if they report misconduct by their powerful bosses. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/05/11/congress-sexual-misconduct-epstein-metoo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/05/11/congress-sexual-misconduct-epstein-metoo/"},"headline":"Congress Faces New Wave of Sexual Misconduct Allegations Amid Epstein Probe—Nearly a Decade After #MeToo","datePublished":"2026-05-11T13:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T19:31:56.657Z","description":"The scrutiny under Congress is the most intense since the height of the #MeToo movement","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/05/11/congress-sexual-misconduct-epstein-metoo/","keywords":["Congress","Jeffrey Epstein"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c6289eadf30a699/69fe4c92a3b63760bf773ed4/congress-epstein-sexual-misconduct-allegations.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nik Popli","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/nik-popli/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c6289eadf30a699/69fe4c92a3b63760bf773ed4/congress-epstein-sexual-misconduct-allegations.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"congress-epstein-sexual-misconduct-allegations.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"Photo-Illustration by TIME. Source images: Rick Friedman—Corbis/Getty Images, Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/05/11/congress-sexual-misconduct-epstein-metoo/","name":"Congress Faces New Wave of Sexual Misconduct Allegations Amid Epstein Probe—Nearly a Decade After #MeToo"}}]}] ```