‘I plan to resign my seat in Congress,’ the California lawmaker said.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) is resigning from Congress just a day after ending his campaign for California governor amid sexual assault allegations.
“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,” Swalwell wrote in a post on X. “I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”
Swalwell has consistently denied the allegations, which were first reported on April 10 by the San Francisco Chronicle. The woman who made the allegations told the Chronicle—which didn’t name her—that Swalwell sexually assaulted her on two occasions, including once while she was employed by him and heavily intoxicated. The Epoch Times has not verified the allegations made against Swalwell in the report.
The congressman subsequently faced pressure from fellow Democrats to withdraw from the California gubernatorial race. Swalwell did so on April 12, acceding to pressure from Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a kingmaker in California politics, to leave the race.
“I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made—but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s,” Swalwell wrote in a post on X on the evening of April 12.
On April 10, House Democratic leaders—including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.)—issued a joint statement calling for an investigation into the allegations.
Swalwell’s decision to leave Congress comes amid mounting bipartisan pressure in recent days for the California Democrat to also resign his seat in the House of Representatives.
The same day he announced his resignation, the House Ethics Committee announced it had opened a probe into the allegations. Historically, the House has suspended such probes once the member under scrutiny resigns.
Some Democrats had said they would support a measure to expel him from the chamber entirely—an extreme penalty for conduct considered grossly immoral. It was last exercised against Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) in December 2023.
“Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong,” Swalwell had said in an earlier post on X. “But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.
“I will 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.”
Two-thirds of the House must support an expulsion resolution to force a lawmaker from Congress.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said in a post on X that she would file a motion to expel Swalwell from Congress, urging the politician to resign within 24 hours. Luna also seeks to expel Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who admitted to an affair with a former staffer and abandoned his reelection bid last month.
By Joseph Lord
