The House Ethics Committee on Wednesday announced the lawmakers that will serve on the subcommittee charged with investigating sexual harassment allegations against Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas).
Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) will serve as the panel’s chairman and Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.) has been tapped to serve as its ranking member, according to a statement released by the Ethics Committee’s top lawmakers.
Two other lawmakers, Reps. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), will also sit on the investigative panel.
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The Ethics Committee announced last week that it would open an investigation into Farenthold, particularly whether he sexually harassed a former staffer and retaliated against her when she complained about his conduct.
The staffer, Lauren Greene, was fired from Farenthold’s office in 2014 and filed a lawsuit against the congressman later that year. Politico reported earlier this month that Farenthold settled that suit in 2015 for $84,000 in taxpayer money.
Farenthold has said that he will repay the settlement.
The revelation of the payout and allegations against Farenthold came as a number of powerful men in politics, media, business and beyond have faced allegations of sexual misconduct and mounting pressure to resign from their jobs.
Several lawmakers have called for a crackdown on sexual harassment in Congress, while three members of Congress have recently resigned after various claims of sexual misconduct.