Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Sunday that it was “up to the Republicans to take responsibility for that” when asked if Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) should resign from Congress as he faces investigations from the Department of Justice and the House Ethics Committee over allegations of having sex with a minor and sex trafficking.
“Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan asked Pelosi if she would wait until the Ethics Committee completed its investigation or if she believed it was now time for Gaetz to resign.
“That’s up to the Republicans to take responsibility for that. We in the Congress, in the House we have Bill 23, which says that in the conduct of our duties we are not to bring dishonor on to the House of Representatives,” Pelosi said.
“I think there’s been a clear violation of that but it’s up to the Ethics Committee to investigate that and it’s up to the Republican leader Mr. McCarthy, to act upon that behavior,” she added, referring to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
The Hill has reached out to Gaetz’s office for a response to Pelosi’s remarks.
Gaetz told a crowd in Florida on Friday that he would not be intimidated by allegations against him, vowing the “truth will prevail.”
The lawmaker has denied having an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old amid reports of the Justice Department investigation.
“I have not yet begun to fight,” he said at a speech at the Save America Summit.
Pelosi has previously said that Gaetz should be removed from the House Judiciary Committee if found guilty of sex trafficking.
Last week, the House Ethics Committee announced it would open an investigation into Gaetz over allegations of illegal drug use and sharing with House colleagues nude photos of young women.
“The Committee is aware of public allegations that Representative Matt Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct,” the committee said in a statement at the time.