With former Republican Rep. George Santos in prison, there’s an opening for the “most controversial member of Congress.” One member in particular is apparently ready to claim the mantle. NBC News reported:
A Florida judge issued a restraining order Tuesday against Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida for ‘protection against dating violence’ after his ex-girlfriend accused him of threatening and harassing her. In a petition filed in August, Lindsey Langston alleged that after they broke up, Mills threatened to blackmail her using nude images and videos and to physically harm anyone she dated.
Mills’ congressional office and his lawyer did not reply to NBC News’ requests for comment. There are a lot of relevant details to the allegations, and the NBC News report is worth reading.
That said, in case this isn’t obvious, the bottom line remains the same: It’s extraordinarily unusual for a sitting member of Congress to be hit with a restraining order.
As regular readers know, the list of controversies surrounding the Florida Republican is not short. The list includes a police investigation into an alleged assault (Mills “vehemently” denied wrongdoing, and the other party ultimately changed her story and claimed there was no physical altercation); questions surrounding an award Mills received as part of his military service; a House Ethics Committee investigation into Mills over his financial disclosure reports and possible omissions (Mills again has denied any wrongdoing); and a lawsuit seeking his eviction over alleged failure to pay thousands of dollars in rent at a property in the nation’s capital (Mills posted on social media to say he had attempted to pay). In each of these instances, Mills has said the allegations are unfounded and presented defenses.
The restraining order, in other words, adds to a litany of woes.
The number of controversies hasn’t just put his future in doubt, it’s also created a new challenge for the House Republican leadership. What, if anything, are GOP leaders prepared to do as the allegations surrounding the Floridian add up and generate headlines?
As it happens, we didn’t have to wait too long for an answer. The morning after the NBC News report was published, a reporter asked House Speaker Mike Johnson about his concerns regarding one of his fellow Republicans. Johnson claimed he was unfamiliar with the developments, adding that he’s “been a little busy,” despite the fact that his chamber is not in session and most of his members aren’t even on Capitol Hill.
Pressed further on the issue, the Louisiana Republican applauded Mills for being a “faithful colleague,” then suggested he considered the underlying controversy to be unimportant.
“Let’s talk about things that are really serious,” Johnson concluded.
Twenty years ago, there was a Republican-led Congress working with a Republican president in his second term, just like now. At the time, the GOP suffered through a difficult “culture of corruption” era, featuring an astonishing number of Republican lawmakers who were caught up in ugly scandals. Names like Tom DeLay, Duke Cunningham, Bob Ney and Mark Foley became nationally notorious for a reason — and in the 2006 midterms, the party lost its majority.
Four years later, after Republicans retook the House majority, GOP leaders went out of their way to make clear that they wouldn’t allow a replay of their earlier troubles. The new Republican majority, House GOP leaders said, would embrace a “zero-tolerance policy” for members caught up in embarrassing controversies that reflected poorly on the party.
For a while, they even seemed to mean it. In 2010, then-Rep. Mark Souder of Indiana acknowledged that he’d had an affair with a congressional staffer. GOP leaders urged him to resign, and he did. Less than a year later, then-Rep. Chris Lee of New York was caught trying to meet women through the personals section of Craigslist. GOP leaders urged him to resign, and he did.
In 2014, then-Rep. Vance McAllister of Louisiana was filmed kissing a staffer who was not his wife. GOP leaders urged him to resign, and although he refused, at least they made an effort. (McAllister lost his re-election bid soon after.)
In each of these instances, House Republican leaders didn’t simply leave matters to voters. They didn’t care that the members hadn’t been formally charged with any crimes. They didn’t punt concerns to the Ethics Committee. For all of their faults (and there were many), GOP leaders set standards and enforced them when members were caught in humiliating scandals.
Years later, Johnson not only appears to have forgotten those standards, he has also suggested it’s not a “serious” matter when a restraining order has been issued against one of his members.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
