The confirmation process for attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz could be delayed if the House Ethics Committee does not release its report on its investigation on him, Sen. Mike Rounds is warning.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, if blocked from getting the House committee's report, will need to get the "information in some other way" on Gaetz, because "for us, the more information we can get, the better," the South Dakota Republican told CNN on Wednesday.
"We're going to do our due diligence, and if there's information out there that should be disclosed, I think there's a lot of us who are going to ask, why isn't it being disclosed," Rounds said.
If there is a report available, "the Senate is going to want to see it," he said. "It may very well speed up the vetting process."
But if the report is not available "and we have to recreate it ourselves, that would delay our ability to make a decision on a very critical nominee," Rounds said.
The Ethics Committee did not reach an agreement Wednesday to release its investigation report, which remains incomplete, to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The committee has been investigating allegations that Gaetz had engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, gave favors to people with whom he had personal relationships, accepted improper gifts, and that he'd obstructed the investigation itself.
Gaetz has strongly denied the allegations against him.
Members did vote to formally complete the report, sources told The Hill. The panel is scheduled to meet again on Dec. 5.