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Michele White
Michele is an award-winning journalist. She has reported and anchored on local television stations and written for newspapers and magazines for two decades.
For the first time in America’s history, two members of Congress from different parties announced their resignations within 65 minutes of each other, amid separate allegations by subordinates of sexual misconduct – including assault. The announcements by US Reps Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX) on Monday, are largely seen as preemptive, as lawmakers prepared for an expulsion vote upon their return this week. Both men have denied the most egregious allegations against them.
The unprecedented same-day dual resignations came as mounting and unusually bipartisan pressure from colleagues to step down, and scathing exposure by social media influencers created a political pressure cooker heading for explosion.
Swalwell was also the leading Democrat candidate in the California gubernatorial race before the dam broke. He posted his resignation at 4.25 pm:
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. 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.
One hour and five minutes later, at 5.30 pm, Gonzales posted on X that he would file his retirement when Congress returns on Tuesday.
Breaking of the Dam
A woman who had worked for Swalwell for nearly two years first told San Francisco Chronicle she had sexual relations with the congressman while she worked for him in her early 20s. She accused him of twice sexually assaulting her when she was too intoxicated to consent, the Chronicle reported on Friday.
That same day, CNN exclusively reported three other women’s accounts of various forms of alleged sexual misconduct by Swalwell, including receiving unsolicited explicit messages or nude photos from the congressman.
By Friday night, the dam had broken, and over the weekend, members of his own party were calling for him to step down.
US Rep Ro Khanna, (D-CA) told FOX News Sunday:
He should step aside. I’ve called for House Ethics investigations. I’ve called for law enforcement investigations…
There need to be consequences to that. And I have said that not only does he need to step aside, but there needs to be House Ethics investigation and law enforcement investigation. And I really stand with pride with the survivors.
Khanna also called for Gonzales “and others” to step down, adding it should “not be about politics.” On NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, US Rep Pramila Jayapal, (D-WA) said she would vote to expel Swalwell:
And Congressman Gonzales, I would. I’ve already said that I think that these things, these charges and allegations and the pattern of abuse – and in Congressman Gonzales’ case, he actually admitted to the affair or to the harassment with his staffer.
Swalwell ended his gubernatorial campaign on Sunday evening, posting on X: “I am suspending my campaign for governor. To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made – but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”
Gonzales Affair Marked by Suicide
Gonzales’ affair with his married district staffer Regina Santos-Aviles reportedly was ongoing during his reelection campaign in the spring of 2024, discovered by her husband shortly thereafter, and known only to staffers for nearly two years. Gonzales narrowly won a primary challenge but handily won the general election in 2024.
Media reports of Gonzales’ scandal broke in February, which included resurfaced text messages from the congressman to Santos-Aviles asking for a “sexy pic.” By that time, Santos-Aviles had tragically died by suicide in September. Gonzales denied or downplayed rumors of his affair for months, while staying in office and running for reelection. He stepped down from his campaign in March, one day after the primary results, amid pressure from House Republican leadership over the affair.
Hypocrisy and Shakeup from Scandals
The chaos in Congress over these sexual scandals comes six weeks after the House voted 357–65 to effectively kill a resolution that would have required the House Ethics Committee to release records of its investigations of allegations of sexual harassment, unwelcome sexual advances, and sexual assault by members of Congress.
The House vote in favor of keeping the records sealed was nearly evenly split: 175 Republicans and 182 Democrats voted to refer it back to the committee and effectively killed the resolution. Only 65 members (38 Republicans and 27 Democrats) voted against referring it, a move that supported more transparency.
Rep Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced the resolution and blasted her colleagues in a statement after the vote:
A young woman is dead. This story begins and ends with her. Tony Gonzales is leaving. She doesn’t get to. We forced a floor vote on our resolution to make Congress release every record of sexual harassment and misconduct it’s been sitting on. Both Republicans and Democrats voted it down. They chose the cover-up over the victims. Tony Gonzales still couldn’t survive the truth. To the 65 members who stood with us on this: you were on the right side of history.
The shakeup over the resignations won’t affect the balance of power in the House but it has already shuffled the candidates in the California gubernatorial primary race. It’s unclear if the districts Swalwell and Gonzales represent will hold special elections before November and the scandals could cause both seats to become battlegrounds.
This article was originally published by Liberty Nation News.
