GOP-Led House Ethics Committee Announces Investigation Into Republican Member

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The GOP-led House of Representatives’ Committee on Ethics announced an investigation into Representative Mike Collins (R-GA) and his chief of staff, Brandon Phillips, per a Friday statement.

The statement, from Chairman Michael Guest (R-MS) and Ranking Member Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), reads, “The Committee on Ethics has extended the matter regarding Representative Mike Collins, which was transmitted to the Committee by the Office of Congressional Conduct on October 7, 2025.”

“The Committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” the statement continues, before promising a plan of action by January 5, 2026.

The statement regarding Phillips reads exactly the same. While the nature of the allegations against both Collins and Phillips has not yet been disclosed, the Daily Mail reported in July that Phillips had hired his “much-younger girlfriend” to work for the Georgia representative.

“This bogus referral is nothing but a desperate and baseless attack by Rep. Collins’ political opponents,” a Collins spokesperson told Politico on Friday.

Notably, while led by Republican Representaive Guest, the Committee on Ethics is evenly split down party lines, with 5 Democrats and 5 Republicans.

Collins, who is running to unseat Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) next year, has drawn further attention in recent months. Earlier this year, his campaign ad went viral after it misspelled the name of his own state. Just earlier on Friday, CBS reported that Collins’ campaign was using an AI-generated video that falsely depicted Ossoff mocking farmers, with only a small disclaimer noting it was artificially produced.

In a statement to CBS, Ossoff’s campaign said, “The only reason a candidate would need to use a deepfake to make up an opponent’s words is if they didn’t think they could win on their own.”