Rep. Lauren Boebert is denying claims in a newly filed House ethics complaint that she had sexual relationships with three congressional staffers she supervised, and in doing so, publicly denied being gay or bisexual.
What the Complaint Alleges
The filing, submitted by David Wheeler of American Muckrakers, claims Boebert engaged in relationships with employees she supervised, in potential violation of a 2018 House rule barring members from sexual relationships with staffers under their supervision, regardless of consent, because of the power imbalance involved. Navarro served as Boebert's district director from 2021 to 2025; Small ran her Washington office for four years; Finegan remains on the House payroll. None of the claims has been independently verified, and the Ethics Committee hasn't said whether it will act on the complaint.
I'm not a lesbian or bisexual.
Lauren Boebert
A Complicated Source
Wheeler's group has targeted Boebert for years, including a 2022 website claiming she once worked as a paid escort. That history doesn't disprove the current allegations, but it's context readers deserve as this plays out.
Why It Matters
Boebert has opposed same-sex marriage during her time in Congress. If nothing else, her decision to fold a denial of her own sexual orientation into a denial of workplace misconduct claims underscores how tangled the politics of identity and power remain on Capitol Hill, whatever the ethics complaint ultimately reveals.
Source: The Advocate
Cover photo: House Creative Services, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
