Another year, another nearly spotless ethical report card for the United States Senate.
At least, according to the Senate Ethics Committee. The panel — charged with policing behavior and enforcing ethical standards in the self-proclaimed world’s greatest deliberative body — hasn’t disciplined anyone for the 17th year in a row. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Not a single U.S. senator or staffer had any ethical lapses worthy of sanction in 2023, if the panel’s own numbers are to be trusted.
Since the committee started disclosing a scintilla of information about its workload in 2007, it has received more than 1,500 complaints about potential ethics violations. But on average, it has opened basic preliminary inquiries into less than 10% of new cases each year. More often — roughly 69% of the time — the panel decides the complaints it receives aren’t within its jurisdiction or don’t represent violations of the Senate rules. Very rarely — in less than 1% of total complaints received — the panel will issue a symbolic letter of admonition while making almost no information public about its findings or the allegations at play.