WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Wednesday announced a bipartisan initiative to overhaul how the U.S. House of Representatives handles sexual misconduct claims. They were joined by Representatives Kat Cammack and Teresa Leger Fernández, who chair the Republican and Democratic Women's Caucuses, respectively.

Johnson said the effort would prioritize updating internal reporting systems. "I think the main thing that they need to work on, we all think they need to work on is reporting mechanisms," he said. "There's this concern that, you know, young female staffers, for example, are intimidated to come forward, so trying to figure out some sort of whistleblower protection program. It needs to happen, so we're gonna advance that as quickly as we can."

Jeffries said discussions between the two parties were already underway. "We're working on something bipartisan right now, and we're trying to figure out the logistics of it," he said.

The initiative follows the resignations last month of Representative Eric Swalwell of California and Representative Tony Gonzales of Texas. Swalwell, who has denied allegations of sexual misconduct, suspended his gubernatorial campaign in California and faces several legal challenges. Gonzales admitted having an affair with a congressional staffer who later died by suicide and said he would not seek reelection.

Since those controversies, lawmakers from both parties have been engaged in discussions, including leaders of the Democratic Women's Caucus and the Republican Women's Caucus. Cammack and Leger Fernández will work with the House Committee on Administration to determine next steps and proposed reforms.

Cammack said the work would focus on cultural change and procedural gaps. "The effort will likely focus in the coming months on changing the culture on Capitol Hill and addressing gaps in the system when it comes to reporting claims," she said. "It's a really convoluted process for people to come forward and report and there's a lot of fear in reporting. While this is not a knee-jerk reaction, it's a thoughtful, well-thought-out process."