Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) announced Monday afternoon that he will resign from Congress following a string of sexual assault accusations.
“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me,” Swalwell said in a statement posted to X. “However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.
“I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members. Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong. But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.”
Four separate women, one of whom was a former staffer, have come forward with allegations against Swalwell, according to CNN. The ex-staffer, who worked in Swalwell’s offices in California and Washington, D.C., has alleged that he raped her twice. Swalwell suspended his gubernatorial campaign Sunday in light of the allegations, despite the California congressman denying any wrongdoing.
Swalwell was facing expulsion threats when Congress returned from its two-week recess Tuesday, with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) vowing to bring forward a motion against him. The House Ethics Committee also announced it had opened an investigation against him on Monday.
It is unclear what day Swalwell will leave office. In his statement, Swalwell said he would “work with my staff in the coming days to ensure they are able, in my absence, to serve the needs of the good people of the 14th congressional district.”
Under California state election law, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has 14 days to issue a proclamation for a special election if a congressional seat becomes vacant and up to 200 days after that proclamation to set the election when consolidating the special primary with the statewide direct primary election.
Swalwell is just the latest in a string of lawmakers to be accused of misconduct in office, with Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) announcing his own plans to leave Congress on Monday after admitting to having an affair in March with a female staffer who later died after setting herself on fire. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) was indicted and is facing trial for allegedly stealing $5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) is facing accusations of stolen valor, financial misconduct, and domestic violence.
The lawmakers are facing various investigations by the House Ethics Committee, which is set to meet next week to sanction Cherfilus-McCormick. Now that Swalwell and Gonzales have announced their intent to leave their House seats, it is unlikely that the committee will release reports about them, as the panel only has authority over sitting members of Congress.
Expulsion efforts ramped up after the allegations against Swalwell surfaced.
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Gonzales, who also suspended his reelection campaign earlier this year, reportedly pursued affairs with two staff members, including the staff member who later died by suicide. In text messages from 2020, Gonzales reportedly told his political director that he wanted to have sex with her and wanted her to “squeeze my balls.” Gonzales reportedly asked her over a dozen times for nude photos, requests she denied. He then allegedly sent a text saying, “47 nos is about my limit.”
“We will clean the House,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said on Benny Johnson’s The Benny Show, saying Gonzales will be right behind Swalwell on the expulsions.
Cherfilus-McCormick could face expulsion as well after a House Ethics subcommittee found her guilty on most of the 27 counts leveled against her in a monthslong investigation centered on allegations of financial misconduct.
Cherfilus-McCormick is accused of stealing $5 million in funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and funneling a portion of them to her campaign account. The subcommittee, which was carrying out the investigation on behalf of the full ethics panel, said it deliberated “well past midnight” after a rare public hearing for Cherfilus-McCormick last month.
The House Ethics Committee is also investigating Mills, who has been accused of domestic violence, stolen valor over a Bronze Star he claims he was awarded, and of financial misconduct that was outlined in a House Ethics Committee report earlier this year.
There have been multiple attempts to censure the Florida Republican. Mills has denied any wrongdoing.
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Any expulsion efforts will be an uphill battle in the House. It requires two-thirds support within the chamber to remove a sitting member and has only been carried out six times. Motions to expel a member typically begin with an Ethics Committee investigation and are not typically done until the committee releases its findings.
The only living member of Congress who has been expelled was former Rep. George Santos in 2023. The New York Republican survived two expulsion votes, but after a House Ethics Committee report alleged, in part, that he used funds meant to support his election to make purchases at OnlyFans, Sephora, and Hermes and get Botox, and that he conspired to falsify Federal Election Commission reports, he was ousted from the lower chamber.
