House leaders to take action on process for sexual misconduct claims

Washington — Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are preparing to announce a bipartisan task force, or working group, aimed at addressing how sexual misconduct claims are handled within the House of Representatives, multiple sources confirmed to CBS News. "We're all in support, fully supportive," Johnson told CBS News ahead of the forthcoming announcement. "I think the main thing that they need to work on, we all think they need to work on is reporting mechanisms." "There's this concern that, you know, young female staffers, for example, are intimidated to come forward, so trying to figure out some sort of whistleblower protection program," Johnson added. "It needs to happen, so we're gonna advance that as quickly as we can." "We're working on something bipartisan right now, and we're trying to figure out the logistics of it," Jeffries told CBS News. The initiative follows the resignations of Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas last month. Swalwell, who also suspended his gubernatorial campaign in the Golden State, has denied allegations of sexual misconduct but faces several legal challenges. Earlier this year, Gonzales admitted having an affair with a congressional staffer who later died by suicide and said he would not seek reelection. …