Rep. Jimmy Gomez, the California Democrat who co-founded the Congressional Dads Caucus, has privately told members he will not seek another term as its chairman, a move that comes as a House Ethics Committee investigation into sexual misconduct allegations tightens around him.
Gomez communicated his decision in a message to caucus members and in at least one individual conversation, the Washington Examiner reported. The office of Rep. Johnny Olszewski, a Maryland Democrat who joined the caucus last year, confirmed that a "transition" in leadership would take place at the group's next meeting, though that meeting is not expected until after the November elections.
The timing is no accident. Gomez, who has held his House seat since 2017, faces a House Ethics Committee investigation announced in recent weeks. The probe was prompted in part by a sexual assault allegation from an unidentified woman.
Gomez initially denied an extramarital affair but later acknowledged what he called "personal mistakes outside my marriage." He maintains his conduct was "consensual in nature" and says he has not violated the law or broken congressional rules.
That characterization drew a sharp rebuttal. Attorneys Lisa Banks and Sarah Nesbitt, representing the accuser, issued a statement directly contradicting Gomez. The New York Post reported their response:
"Contrary to Representative Gomez's assertion in his statement, his actions were not consensual in nature with respect to our client."
Rep. Kat Cammack, a Florida Republican, framed the matter bluntly: "A woman showed real courage in coming forward and telling the Ethics Committee that she was sexually harassed and assaulted by Representative Gomez."
Gomez was reportedly seen kissing a staff member from another congressional office in 2023, and the first published reports of that incident surfaced in April. Gomez's public admission of infidelity followed, but the scandal deepened once the ethics investigation became public.
In a fuller statement reported by Fox News, Gomez said:
"Although my actions were consensual in nature and haven't violated the law or House Ethics rules, that doesn't diminish the impact that these mistakes have made on those I care about the most. I am deeply sorry to my wife for the pain and embarrassment that I have brought into our lives."
An apology to a spouse is a personal matter. An ethics investigation into a sitting congressman accused of sexual assault is not.
Gomez is not just losing a caucus title. He is watching his own colleagues walk away. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, a Massachusetts Democrat, left the Congressional Dads Caucus entirely over the ethics investigation, according to a Monday report from Semafor. A second, unnamed caucus member told reporters that Gomez should step down as chairman.
One source with direct knowledge of the situation said conversations about Gomez stepping aside predated the first published reports of the kissing incident. A second source familiar with the matter said Gomez informed one caucus member of his plans "months" ago, but after the April report. The two accounts point to an awkward reality: Gomez may have sensed the walls closing in well before the Ethics Committee acted.
The Democratic Women's Caucus added its own pressure. Its leadership called on the House Ethics Committee to release the "status" of its investigation before the traditional 60-day blackout period that halts ethics disclosures ahead of an election. That request carries an unmistakable message: voters in California's 34th District deserve to know what the committee has found before they cast ballots.
Gomez placed first in his June primary and now faces Angela Gonzales-Torres, a progressive challenger, in November. California's jungle primary system put two Democrats on the general election ballot, meaning Gomez cannot count on a partisan advantage to carry him through.
Gomez is not the first member of his party to face this kind of reckoning. Democrats on Capitol Hill believe Gomez may resign, following the path of his close friend Eric Swalwell, who stepped down in April after multiple women alleged sexual harassment or assault. The parallel is hard to miss: both men served in the California delegation, both faced ethics scrutiny tied to conduct with women, and both initially contested the allegations.
On the Republican side, Rep. Chuck Edwards of North Carolina dropped his re-election bid after a similar House Ethics probe into sexual misconduct allegations. California Republicans ousted their own leader, Heath Flora, amid affair allegations and campaign spending questions. Misconduct scandals do not respect party lines, but accountability should not, either.
What stands out about the Gomez case is the specific irony of his position. He co-founded the Congressional Dads Caucus, a group designed to promote pro-family policies and signal that fathers in Congress take family obligations seriously. Now that caucus is scheduling a leadership "transition" because its chairman admitted to cheating on his wife and stands accused of sexual assault by a woman who has cooperated with the Ethics Committee.
The Olszewski office's careful language, "transition", suggests Democrats want this handled quietly, after the election, and without a public fight. That instinct is familiar. Senate leadership has ducked questions about other Democratic misconduct scandals when the timing proved inconvenient.
But the accuser's attorneys have made clear they dispute Gomez's version of events. The Ethics Committee has opened a formal investigation. And the Democratic Women's Caucus, Gomez's own colleagues, is publicly pressing for disclosure before voters go to the polls.
Stepping aside from a small bipartisan caucus chairmanship is the lowest-cost concession Gomez can make. Whether it satisfies his colleagues, the Ethics Committee, or the voters of his district is another question entirely. Elected officials facing harassment probes across the country have learned that quiet gestures rarely end the scrutiny.
Gomez's case also raises a question that Republicans have pressed in other investigations of Democratic lawmakers: will the Ethics Committee complete its work transparently and on a timeline that serves voters, or will the 60-day blackout window conveniently shield a sitting congressman from accountability until after Election Day?
Gomez built a public identity around fatherhood and family values in Congress. He co-founded a caucus to prove it. He brought his young son to the White House. He asked voters to see him as a family man who legislated like one.
Now his own caucus members are leaving, his party's women's caucus is demanding answers, and the woman who came forward says his account of what happened is false. Giving up a chairmanship title is not accountability. It is the smallest possible step a man can take when the ground beneath him is already giving way.
When the people who built an institution around trust and family have to distance themselves from their own founder, the title on the door is the least of what has been lost.
