Two congressmen resign as US House braces for rare expulsions amid sexual misconduct scandals

WASHINGTON - Two US lawmakers stepped down on April 13 and two more faced possible expulsion over a series of scandals that have rattled both parties and thrown the House of Representatives into turmoil.

Democrat Eric Swalwell of California, who had already ended his bid to become governor, announced his resignation from Congress on April 13 via X, after multiple women accused him of sexual assault or misconduct.

Hours later, Texas Republican Tony Gonzales announced plans to retire from office in an X post, amid mounting pressure after acknowledging an affair with a former aide who later died by self-immolation. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican leaders had already urged him not to seek reelection.

Lawmakers are still zeroing in on separate controversies involving two Florida lawmakers – Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Republican Cory Mills – in an unusual push for disciplinary action.

“Congress should not tolerate representatives who abuse staff, betray public trust for personal gain, and generally violate their oath of office,” New York Democrat Nydia Velazquez posted on X, calling for all four to resign and adding “if they refuse, they should be expelled”.

Threshold

Expulsion from the House requires a two-thirds majority, a threshold so high that Congress has wielded the sanction only in the gravest cases, removing just six members in its 237-year history.

Mr Swalwell’s troubles escalated rapidly over the weekend as reports in the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN detailed allegations from four women, including a former staff member who said he sexually assaulted her twice while she was too intoxicated to consent.

He has apologised for what he called “mistakes in judgment” while insisting the accusations are false.

He suspended his campaign to become governor of California but this did little to calm the uproar in Washington, where calls for him to resign from the House spread across party lines. Late on the afternoon of April 13, he announced on X he was resigning his seat.

“I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make,” Mr Swalwell said.

Republican Anna Paulina Luna said she was filing a motion to expel Mr Swalwell, and support for votes to oust all four beginning as early as this week has come from an ideologically wide group of lawmakers.

‘Despicable’

“These allegations are despicable and they demean the integrity of Congress,” Florida Republican Byron Donalds told NBC, adding that both Mr Swalwell and Mr Gonzales “need to go home.”

The Swalwell and Gonzales cases in particular have fed talk on Capitol Hill of a politically symmetrical purge: one Democrat for one Republican, or perhaps two from each party.

“Gonzales and Swalwell exploited their staffers’ ideals and commitment to public service as a vulnerability. These staffers work incredibly hard and instead of being treated with respect, they were preyed upon,” Democratic New Mexico Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez said.

Ms Cherfilus-McCormick is already facing a sanctions hearing after an Ethics Committee subpanel found she committed 25 violations tied to campaign finance and related conduct, and she is also due to face a federal criminal trial in 2027.

She has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in her criminal case.

The Ethics Committee, a bipartisan but notoriously slow-moving body that handles misconduct cases in the House, is also investigating Mr Gonzales and on April 13 opened a new file, on Mr Swalwell – but the committee’s jurisdiction extends only to sitting members.

Mr Mills, meanwhile, is under investigation over allegations ranging from sexual misconduct and domestic violence to campaign finance and gift violations, all of which he denies.

Many lawmakers remain sceptical however that the chamber will act as soon as this week – especially on Mr Swalwell, whose case has only just surfaced and has not yet gone through the usual internal process.

The House is already operating with an exceptionally thin Republican majority, and any vacancies would trigger special elections whose timing would depend on state governors. AFP