Taxpayers Paid Over $300,000 in Secret Settlements for Sexual Harassment by Former Congress Members

Taxpayers have unknowingly footed the bill for over $300,000 in confidential sexual harassment settlements involving six former members of the House of Representatives or their offices, according to documents obtained by CNN and GOP Rep. Nancy Mace. The revelations come after Mace, a vocal advocate for transparency on Capitol Hill, subpoenaed the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR) to release settlement records tied to misconduct allegations.

A CNN review of more than 1,000 pages of case files—including formal complaints, counsel notes, and settlement agreements—paints a troubling picture of lawmakers leveraging their power to mistreat staffers. From 1996 through 2018, OCWR approved 349 settlements to resolve complaints against legislative offices, with 80 involving House or Senate offices. Of those, seven settlements addressed sexual harassment claims, all paid with taxpayer funds from a now-defunct Treasury account.

The settlement contracts typically do not include admissions of wrongdoing. Instead, they emphasize avoiding “the inconvenience of protracted litigation and the expense to the parties and the taxpayers.” Many of the accused lawmakers resigned amid public allegations, including Democrats John Conyers and Republicans Blake Farenthold, both of whom faced ethics investigations.

Conyers received a severance payment exceeding $27,000 plus an additional $50,000 settlement, while Farenthold’s settlement totaled $84,000. Farenthold apologized for creating a hostile work environment but denied some allegations, promising to repay the taxpayer money used for his settlement.

Following the #MeToo movement, Congress enacted reforms in 2018 banning the use of taxpayer dollars for sexual harassment settlements. The House Ethics Committee confirmed no such payments have been reported since the change.

These disclosures underscore a systemic failure in Congress to hold powerful members accountable for sexual misconduct, forcing taxpayers to cover the costs of their abuses in secrecy. The destruction of 23 settlement case files due to a record retention policy further clouds transparency efforts.

Rep. Mace’s push for disclosure shines a light on the entrenched culture of impunity that has long protected abusers in the halls of power. Until Congress fully reforms its policies and enforces accountability, survivors and taxpayers alike will continue to bear the cost of these cover-ups.