The United States Capitol in Washington, Monday, April 15, 2024 (Photo: Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON – California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell and Texas Republican Tony Gonzales announced Monday night that they would resign from Congress amid sexual harassment allegations.
Swalwell’s announcement came just a day after he suspended his campaign for governor amid sexual assault allegations.
“I am aware of efforts to immediately expel me and other members,” he wrote statement at
A little over an hour later, Gonzales published his plans to resign on social media.
“There is a time for everything and God has a plan for us,” he added he wrote. “When Congress returns tomorrow, I will be resigning from office. It has been an honor to serve the great people of Texas.”
The debate over expelling four House members, which would require the support of two-thirds of the chamber, resurfaced this weekend when Swalwell it fell out in the gubernatorial elections.
New Mexico Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, chairwoman of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, said in a statement that the reports about Swalwell were “appalling.”
“Republican Swalwell’s actions will not be tolerated in any workplace, and the United States Congress should be no different,” she wrote. “We must believe and support survivors and hold perpetrators accountable.”
Fernández called for an immediate investigation to ensure that “the workers and trainees who bravely came forward are heard and kept safe.”
Fernández wrote in a separate statement that Swalwell and Gonzales, who are during the investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations that he engaged in “sexual misconduct against an employee of his congressional office,” he should immediately leave Congress.
“Representatives. Gonzales and Swalwell are unfit to serve. They must resign. If they do not, I will vote to expel them,” she wrote.
Florida Republican Anna Paulina Luna wrote in a social media post that she “will support this resolution!”
The House Ethics Committee announced Monday afternoon that its members did initiated an investigation to Swalwell “in connection with allegations that he may have engaged in sexual misconduct, including with an employee working under his supervision.”
Florida legislators
There is also the possibility that the expulsion resolution will include Florida Republican Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Florida Republican Cory Mills.
House Ethics Committee I voted to find Cherfilus-McCormick guilty on more than two dozen ethics charges filed in tardy March following a public hearing. The panel plans to convene another hearing on April 21 to decide “what, if any, sanction would be appropriate for the committee to recommend to the House of Representatives.”
Mills was during the investigation by the Ethics Committee for months over allegations that he “engaged in misconduct in connection with allegations of sexual misconduct and/or dating violence” and several other possible violations.
Few expulsions in history
The House rarely expelled its members, voting just six times to force lawmakers from the House.
The last House member removed from the House of Representatives was New York Republican George Santos in a 311-114 vote vote in December 2023 for approval resolution on expulsion sponsored by Mississippi Republican Michael Guest, chairman of the Ethics Committee.
The resolution noted that in May 2023, “Santos was charged in federal court in the Eastern District of New York with wire fraud in connection with the fraudulent political contributions scheme, illegal monetary transactions in connection with wire fraud allegations, theft of public funds in connection with his alleged receipt of unemployment benefits, false application for and receipt of unemployment benefits, and false statements in connection with his financial disclosure statements to the House of Representatives over the years 2020 and 2022.”
Another expulsion occurred in 2002, when Democratic Ohio Republican James A. Traficant was expelled for conspiracy, defrauding the government, illegal tipping, obstruction of justice, racketeering and tax evasion violations, according to report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
Pennsylvania Democratic Republican Michael J. Myers was expelled in 1980 for bribery, conspiracy and violations of the Travel Act. In 1861, during the Civil War, Kentucky Rep. Henry C. Burnett, along with Missouri Reps. John B. Clark and John W. Reid, were expelled for “disloyalty to the Union.”
Jacob Fischler contributed to this report.
