UPDATE, 12/13/17, 8:30 AM, with Pelosi remarks:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she believes Rep. Ruben Kihuen "wants to have an ethics investigation and that would be appropriate."

Asked if she believes an investigation would happen, she said "It's a funny thing, the Ethics Committee. It's its own world and they don't share any information about the timing or nature or whatever until they make a public announcement. We all find out at the same time."

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The number two Democrat in the House of Representatives believes there should be an ethics investigation of Nevada Democrat Ruben Kihuen, who is alleged to have sexually harassed a campaign worker in 2016.

At his weekly meeting with reporters, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer said the House Ethics Committee has “the right and should take this under consideration themselves.”

While some, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, have called for Kihuen to resign, Hoyer’s comments represent the first public pronouncements by a member explicitly talking about an ethics investigation into Kihuen.

“I don’t know that anybody’s called for [an ethics investigation]," Hoyer noted, adding that he believes the committee will take up the matter irrespective of others calling for it to do so.

“My expectation is that there will be an ethics hearing on this,” he said.

"I believe in transparency," Kihuen said in response to Hoyer's call. "If Ethics wants to look at it, I welcome an opportunity to clear my name."

Later Tuesday, speaking at a press conference where more than a dozen House Democratic women touted a letter signed by more than 100 House Democrats calling on the Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to investigate allegation of sexual harassment against President Donald Trump, Michigan Democrat Brenda Lawrence, who is vice chair of the Democratic Working Women’s Group, said that the party’s actions have spoken loudly in favor of an ethics investigation into Kihuen.

“I think the Democratic Party has been very strong in saying that there should be an ethics investigation and that you have seen actions from the Democratic Party that we are not running away from this. We are standing together and saying accountability goes all the way to the White House.”

Their comments come after Minnesota Sen. Al Franken and Michigan Rep. John Conyers announced they would end their political careers due to allegations of sexual impropriety. Conyers resigned last week, while Franken announced plans to step down.

In comparing Franken to Kihuen, Hoyer repeated his position that Kihuen denies the allegation and that if proven to be true the Nevada Democrat should resign.

“Sen. Franken made a judgment that it was appropriate for him to resign,” Hoyer said adding that Franken’s resignation came despite allegations of harassment by over a dozen women against President Trump and Trump’s support for Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, who has been accused by at least five women who say he acted inappropriately with them, some as teenagers.

“I get what Franken is saying,” Hoyer continued. “Mr. Kihuen has said he didn’t do...what he is alleged to have done. I’ve said that there needs to be a process that needs to be pursued quickly and transparently to resolve that issue. And, in fact, if the allegations are proven to be true, I said he ought to resign.”

A House Ethics Committee investigation could take months because there is no time limit and would require a member to complain the committee about him, according to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE).

The issue could also be handled by the House Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), which is an independent, non-partisan office governed by a board of private citizens that is charged with investigating claims of misconduct by members, officers and employees of the House. However OCE does not have subpoena power and cannot impose sanctions, which is left to the committee.

Under the OCE process, the preliminary review can take up to 30 days, during which the staff looks into whether a violation may have occurred, according to its website.

“The OCE’s non-partisan staff obtains evidence and testimony through interviews and document requests,” according to OCE. “All evidence received and interviews conducted by the OCE staff are subject to the False Statements Act, which provides for criminal penalties when witnesses falsify evidence or make false statements during a federal government investigation.”

The second phase can last up to 45 days, and the board had the authority to extend it by an additional 14 days. At the end of any second-phase, the board recommends to the committee either that the matter requires the committee’s further review or that it should dismiss the matter.

Sometimes the two disagree. Last week the committee opened an investigation against Texas Republican Blake Farenthold over allegations that he sexually harassed an aide and then retaliated against her. The investigation came after OCE decided Farenthold’s case did not warrant further review.

The last Nevada federal lawmaker to face ethics allegations was Republican Sen. John Ensign who resigned while he was being investigated by the Senate Ethics Committee.

Ensign had an affair with a campaign aide who was the wife of Doug Hampton, who at the time was a friend and on the senator’s staff. Ensign, through his family, paid Hampton $96,000 and got him a lobbying job. Ensign also pressured donors and associates to hire the lobbyist. He was cleared of federal charges and left the Senate as the ethics investigation was ramping up.

This story was updated at 2:45 PM with a quote for Kihuen.