Trump transition live updates: Trump announces pick for energy secretary

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday he does not think the House Ethics Committee should release their report into now-former GOP Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.

"I think it's a terrible breach of protocol and tradition and the spirit of the rules," Johnson told reporters at the U.S. Capitol.

The House Ethics Committee was investigating Gaetz over allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.

Johnson said he didn't think it was "relevant" for the public to know what's in the report.

“The rules of the House have always been that a former member is beyond the jurisdiction of the Ethics Committee," he said.

Johnson said he had not yet spoken with Ethics Committee Chair Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., but that he plans to.

Guest postponed a meeting the House Ethics Committee had planned for Friday morning.

Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats have called on the committee to release the report.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel, Lauren Peller and Isabella Murray

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Trump's various Justice Department nominees, including Gaetz and his personal attorneys, show the president-elect's intention to "weaponize" the Justice Department in order to "seek vengeance."

"Donald Trump viewed the Justice Department as his personal law firm during his first term, and these selections -- his personal attorneys -- are poised to do his bidding," Durbin said in a statement.

"The American people deserve a Justice Department that fights for equal justice under the law. This isn't it," the statement continued.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary, was part of an investigation into alleged sexual assault in 2017, officials in Monterey, California, said in a statement overnight. Trump’s transition team was made aware of the incident earlier this week, after Trump announced him as his choice, a source told ABC News.

Monterey city officials said in their press statement that police investigated a "sexual assault" that allegedly occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 8, 2017, at a Hyatt Regency. The incident did not involve a weapon, but the victim allegedly suffered "contusions to right thigh."

Hegseth is not identified in the city's statement as the alleged assailant. The victim’s name and age are listed as "confidential."

A police report was filed days later, on Oct. 12. It was not immediately clear whether any charges were filed. A Monterey Superior Court spokesperson told ABC News on Thursday they had no records on file with Hegseth’s name as a party.

Tim Parlatore, an attorney for Hegseth, told ABC News. "This incident was fully investigated and Mr. Hegseth was cleared of any wrongdoing. It should have no effect on the confirmation process."

Monterey officials said the statement came in response to "numerous inquiries" from the media, including ABC News, and they would not be making "any other remarks related to this inquiry."

ABC News has reached out to the Trump transition for comment.

-ABC News' Lucien Bruggeman

Vice President-elect JD Vance has already been working the phones reaching out to senators trying to gauge support for Matt Gaetz -- who Trump named for the attorney general role, according to three sources with knowledge of the calls.

Matt Gaetz has also been making calls to senators, sources said.

The calls from Vance underscore ABC News' reporting that he is expected to be the "eyes and ears" for Trump in Congress.

Also, the House Ethics Committee, which sources said was preparing to meet this week to deliberate over whether to release a final report on Gaetz -- is not expected to meet Friday, per two sources.

-ABC News' Rachel Scott