WASHINGTON — Both Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, resigned from Congress in disgrace on Tuesday, pre-empting a push by their House colleagues to expel them from office.
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Both lawmakers were facing unrelated House Ethics investigations into alleged sexual misconduct, in some cases with women who had worked for them, a violation of House rules. Their resignations mean that those investigations effectively come to an end, since the Ethics Committee only has jurisdiction over sitting members of Congress.
Investigations by law enforcement agencies can continue; and the Manhattan district attorney’s office has said it has launched a probe into Swalwell focused on an alleged assault that took place in New York.
On Tuesday, another woman alleged that Swalwell drugged, raped and choked her in a California hotel room in 2018. Her lawyers said she was going to report the incident to law enforcement later in the day.
Swalwell’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment on the latest allegation. He previously apologized for making “mistakes” but called allegations of sexual assault “false.”
Swalwell’s resignation was effective at 2 p.m. ET. Gonzales’ will be effective at 11:59 p.m. ET. Tuesday night.
With Swalwell and Gonzales gone, the Republicans will have a 216-213 majority over the Democrats. However, Republicans will gain one seat Tuesday night, when Clay Fuller of Georgia is sworn in to succeed former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned earlier this year.
The unceremonious departure of Swalwell and Gonzales on the same day closes a dark chapter on Capitol Hill.
Gonzales, first elected to Congress in 2020, had been dogged by rumors and allegations of sexual misconduct since last September, when one of his staffers, Regina Santos-Aviles, died by suicide.
Text messages obtained by NBC News and confirmed by the woman’s widower show that Gonzales had sent Santos-Aviles sexually explicit messages in May 2024. And Gonzales later admitted he had an affair with her while she was his subordinate.
A second woman who had worked for Gonzales told NBC News that he had also sent her sexually explicit text messages, including repeatedly asking for sex and nude photos. A spokesperson did not respond to that allegation. Gonzales said in March he would not seek re-election, but after the Swalwell scandal, Gonzales said he would quit Congress early, heading off an expulsion vote.
Swalwell’s fall from grace happened much quicker. Last week, the Nancy Pelosi ally and vocal Donald Trump foe had been a leading contender in the crowded California governor’s race.
But on Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle published a bombshell story, featuring a young woman who said she had a sexual encounter with Swalwell while she worked for him, and that he later, on two occassions, sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent. CNN also spoke to the woman and three others who accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct.
A source familiar with her account confirmed to NBC News that the reporting by CNN and the Chronicle was accurate and spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the ongoing legal matter.
Swalwell conceded he’s made mistakes but denied that woman’s allegations of sexual assault. He dropped out of the governor’s race Sunday, then said Monday he would resign.
It’s unclear whether the governors of California and Texas would call special elections to fill the vacancies, given it’s a midterm election year and voters are already slated to elect replacements for Swalwell and Gonzales in November.
Returning to the Capitol Tuesday after a two-week recess, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he thinks both Swalwell and Gonzales made the right decision by resigning.
“My views have been made known about the terrible allegations that were made and obviously the facts that they both admitted to,” Johnson said. “And I think it was the appropriate thing.”
Attention on the Hill now shifts to alleged bad behavior by two House members from Florida, Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat, and Rep. Cory Mills, a Republican.
Johnson said he thinks it will be the “consensus” of the House that Cherfilus-McCormick “should be expelled,” after a special bipartisan House Ethics subcommittee found her guilty of 25 violations related to allegations she stole millions in federal relief funds that were used in her congressional campaign. She has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty in a related criminal case.
Asked if Mills should be expelled as well, Johnson said he was not “sure the status of the Ethics Committee investigation, and that’s one of the things I’ll be looking into today.”
Mills has been under investigation by the committee for several allegations, including financial and sexual misconduct. Mills has denied wrongdoing.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Swalwell “made the right decision” in resigning. When asked if he pushed Swalwell to resign, Jeffries said his conversations would “remain private.”
Asked if he would be okay with expelling Cherfilus-McCormick, Jeffries said he would “have that conversation subsequent to the Ethics Committee recommendation.”
The Ethics panel is set to announce its recommended sanctions for the congresswoman at an April 21 hearing, after which the full House could act.
It requires a two-thirds vote to expel a member of Congress — an extremely rare occurrence but one that happened in late 2023, when the House voted 311-114 to oust Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., following a scathing Ethics report and a 23-count criminal indictment.
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