House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told Axios Tuesday he supports banning members of Congress from having romantic or sexual relationships with Capitol Hill staff, adding momentum to a discussion about tightening House workplace rules.Why it matters: Congress has been rocked this year by a series of sexual misconduct scandals, prompting bipartisan conversations about reforming how the House deals with sexual harassment and misconduct."I think it's inappropriate, as it would be in any workplace," Johnson told Axios when asked about lawmakers engaging in relationships with staffers."We should, at a bare minimum in Congress, have, you know, rules and traditions that are adhered to in corporate America, so that's an easy one for me," Johnson continued.House rules prohibit members from engaging in sexual relationships with members of their own staff, but do not prohibit relationships with staff members outside their offices.Driving the news: A bipartisan House task force on sexual misconduct is weighing whether to recommend banning lawmaker-staffer relations."If you're a member, you really should not be doing that because you have extraordinary power and authority over that individual's career, even if they are not in your office," Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), the GOP lead on the task force, told Axios Tuesday."There is a massive power dynamic imbalance," Cammack added."From the beginning, we've pushed to extend the prohibition against members having sexual relationships to ALL staff," the task force's Democratic lead, Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), said in a statement to Axios.
"The power dynamic that leads to abuse exists for all staffers, not just those within the members own office," she continued. Cammack said banning relationships with staff outside of a member's office remains under discussion, though lawmakers have a "difference of opinion" on the proposal.She said the task force is "70% of the way there" on a broader package of recommendations.Catch up quick: Calls for tougher rules ramped up after two lawmakers — Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) — resigned earlier this year amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
Swalwell also faces allegations of sexual assault.Swalwell has denied the allegations, and Gonzales admitted to an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.The Ethics panel lost jurisdiction over the matter…
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