Jimmy Gomez, a California Democrat, is facing a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct involving a congressional staffer. The investigation puts the veteran Democrat under a new level of scrutiny as he becomes the latest member of Congress to face an ethics probe over allegations of misconduct. The House Ethics Committee announced Monday that it is investigating allegations that Gomez engaged in “inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer” and whether his conduct violated the House Code of Official Conduct or other standards.
The committee has not publicly detailed all of the allegations. Gomez has denied violating House rules or the law. He has acknowledged making what he described as “personal mistakes” outside his marriage and said the conduct was consensual.
He has also said he will cooperate with the investigation. His Democratic primary challenger, Angela Gonzales-Torres, has already seized on the investigation, accusing him of a “pattern of bad judgment” and calling him “unfit to lead.” “I take political corruption seriously … I also take very seriously what appears to be a culture in Congress in which men abuse women," she wrote on X. She said that if Gomez had nothing to hide, he should have no concern, but added that if there had been criminal behavior he “witnessed, participated in, or helped conceal,” she would seek “accountability and justice.” Gomez, 51, was first elected to Congress in a 2017 special election to replace Xavier Becerra, who left the House to become California attorney general.
Gomez has since been reelected to four additional terms and represents California's 34th Congressional District, which includes large portions of Los Angeles. Before coming to Washington, Gomez served in the California State Assembly from 2012 to 2017. He previously worked in organized labor and as a congressional staffer.
His education includes a bachelor's degree from UCLA and a master's degree in public policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. In Congress, Gomez sits on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and serves in Democratic leadership as a deputy whip. He is also the founder and chairman of the Congressional Dads Caucus and Congressional Renters Caucus.
His public profile has frequently centered on issues affecting working families, including housing affordability, paid family leave and economic policy. Gomez is married to Mary Hodge, a former top aide to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and they share a son. The allegations date back to at least 2023, when Gomez was reportedly seen kissing a younger congressional staffer who worked in another lawmaker's office, according to the New York Post.
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