Mike Johnson Backs Ban On Lawmaker-Romance With Capitol Hill Staff

According to Axios, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday he supports banning members of Congress from having romantic or sexual relationships with Capitol Hill staff, adding momentum to a bipartisan effort to tighten House workplace rules. House rules already bar members from sexual relationships with staff in their own offices, but not with staffers outside their offices, and a bipartisan House task force on sexual misconduct is considering whether to recommend expanding the prohibition. Johnson said such relationships are inappropriate in any workplace, while task force leaders Rep. Kat Cammack and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández said the power imbalance affects all staffers, not just those in a member's office. The push comes after sexual misconduct scandals involving Reps. Tony Gonzales and Eric Swalwell, while Reps. Chuck Edwards and Cory Mills are separately under House Ethics investigation.