The Senate Ethics Committee is searching for a new chairman ahead of the next Congress, but several senior lawmakers have signaled little interest in taking charge of a panel responsible for investigating misconduct among their own colleagues.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., currently chairs the committee but is expected to lead the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs next Congress. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., the committee’s top Democrat, is positioned to lead the Foreign Relations Committee if Democrats regain control of the Senate.

Asked whether he wanted to remain as ethics chairman, Lankford laughed and said the position is not one senators typically seek.

“No one asks to be on the Ethics Committee. No one,” Lankford said. “You’re asked to be on it, and it’s a way of serving your conference.”

Coons praised the work he and Lankford had done together and said he enjoyed working with the committee’s members, but did not indicate whether he would be willing to remain.

Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, was more direct about the difficulty of finding a successor.

“Nobody wants to be chair of the Ethics Committee. Period,” Risch said, pointing to the challenges of handling allegations involving friends and colleagues.

“It’s very difficult when you have matters you have to deal with concerning your friends and colleagues,” added Risch, the committee’s second-most senior Republican.

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., the third-ranking Republican on the panel, also ruled herself out, saying she expects to become chair of the Senate Rules Committee next year.

“Deb Fischer is not going to do that,” she said when asked about taking over the ethics panel.

The reluctance comes as the committee faces questions about its record of holding senators accountable. Over the past decade, the panel has issued only two public rebukes, sending letters of admonition to former Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. The committee has not formally disciplined a member since 2012, according to Politico.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have not announced who would lead the committee if a new chairman is needed.

Although senators have previously chaired the Ethics Committee while simultaneously leading another standing committee, leaving open the possibility that Lankford or Coons could be asked to continue, the search highlights the uncomfortable position of lawmakers tasked with policing the conduct of their fellow senators.