While historically criticized for inconsistency or opacity, the House Ethics Committee appears to be moving toward a more active and transparent enforcement posture.  Last week, the Committee adopted two reports finding Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) violated House ethics rules.  The reports together serve as a warning—both to Members of Congress and private parties engaging with the Hill—that we may have entered a period of heightened scrutiny of interactions between private parties and Members of Congress and their staff.

In particular, as discussed in greater detail below, the reports suggest that the Ethics Committee is increasingly focused on policing inadvertent violations that create an appearance of impropriety.  Likewise, by publishing public reports in lieu of more traditional letters of reproval, the Committee may be signaling a desire to assert its authority while providing clear guidance to Members and private parties alike.  Moreover, the dual release of the reports—adopted with a unanimous vote of the Committee’s members—signals the Ethics Committee’s intent to strictly enforce its rules publicly and across party lines. Below we provide an overview of each report, highlighting key Committee findings along with broader implications for congressional ethics enforcement.