White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday it's "plausible" that many Democrats knew about former Rep. Eric Swalwell's alleged misconduct.
"I think it's also quite plausible... that there were many other Democrats in this town on Capitol Hill who knew about his, perhaps illegal behavior, certainly his disgusting and inappropriate behavior, and why were they silent for so long?" Leavitt told reporters during a press briefing.
Leavitt specifically mentioned Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who said Tuesday that Swalwell "lied" to and "manipulated" him when he asked his colleague about the allegations against him.
"The man lived a double life," Gallego told reporters. "He literally led a double life and tricked many of us into thinking he was someone he was not."
Leavitt said she remains hopeful that the news media will ask Democrats how "they knew about such despicable behavior from one of their elected representatives for so long, but never said or did anything about it."
Former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., allegedly used campaign funds to pay for a stay at a luxury Times Square hotel where he is accused of raping a former staffer, according to financial disclosures reviewed by The California Post.
On Feb. 26, 2024, Swalwell's campaign issued two payments of $1,095.52 for rooms at the Times Square Edition, where the congressman and his accuser were attending a gala for the Brady Campaign, an anti-gun violence nonprofit.
The alleged rape occurred on April 25, the date of the gala.
The disclosure filings record the date a candidate or staffer was seeking reimbursement for travel expenses — not necessarily the date of the stay at a hotel, the Post report states.
The staffer told other media outlets that the alleged rape happened at the hotel and that she was intoxicated.
Swalwell's campaign reportedly spent $14,476.11 for rooms and incidentals at the hotel between January 2023 and February 2024, the data shows.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Wednesday to investigate unspecified allegations against an unnamed senator.
“It seems like the Senate has its own trash to take out. @LeaderJohnThune, you need to look into the allegations against one of your senators; it’s very disturbing,” Luna wrote on X. “My chief will be contacting your chief.”
The Florida Republican did not specify the nature of the allegations or which senator she was referencing.
Luna has consistently called for the expulsion of lawmakers from Congress who have engaged in sexual misconduct.
“I’m working on a bill with a Democratic member of Congress right now to remove pensions from people who are expelled or resign due to evidence of sexual harassment and assault,” she told reporters on Wednesday.
{{#rendered}}House Republicans will release records regarding a "slush fund" used to pay off victims of sexual harassment on Capitol Hill, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said Wednesday.
“A friendly reminder that House Oversight subpoenaed the records of the congressional sexual harassment slush fund, and we will be releasing them,” Luna posted on X. “Maybe we’ll see more resignations; you never know. #trashday.”
Luna has led calls to remove lawmakers accused of sexual misconduct following allegations against Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas.
Since 1997, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights has paid $18.2 million to settle 291 cases of workplace disputes involving Congress, the U.S. Capitol Police, the Architect of the Capitol and the Library of Congress, RealClearPolitics reported.
The House has only expelled six Members in the history of the republic. But it was possible as recently as Monday that the House was primed to wrestle with a mind-boggling four expulsions.
It takes a two-thirds vote to expel a Member. The House last expelled one of its own in late 2023: former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. Before that, you have to go back to 2002 when the House kicked out Rep. Jim Traficant, D-Ohio.
Calls to expel former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., piled up after reports surfaced that he sexually assaulted a former aide and several other women. Swalwell initially said he would fight the allegations.
Then he dropped his bid to become governor of California after a host of once close allies abandoned their support. Swalwell has now resigned, avoiding the ignominious scene of an expulsion.
Then there was former Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas. At first, Gonzales denied an affair with an aide who committed suicide by setting herself on fire.
Gonzales was locked in a tough primary runoff against Republican Congressional candidate Brandon Herrera. But after pressure, Gonzales finally dropped out of the runoff and isn’t standing for re-election. However, Gonzales intended to stay on until his term expired on January 3 next year.
But now Gonzales is out the door, too.
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., could face expulsion soon. In late March, the House Ethics Committee held a rare "trial," declaring she improperly obtained an astonishing $5 million in COVID relief funds. The Ethics panel will likely recommend a punishment for Cherfilus-McCormick next week.
This is an excerpt from an article by Chad Pergram.
Late-night shows "Jimmy Kimmel Live! " and "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" did not bring up former Rep. Eric Swalwell's alleged sexual misconduct scandal during Monday and Tuesday's shows.
Swalwell announced Monday he will officially resign from office after his sexual misconduct allegations triggered a surge of lawmakers calling for his expulsion over the weekend. He suspended his campaign for California governor on Sunday.
Swalwell has used late-night interviews to announce some of his political campaigns, including his campaign for California governor, which he announced on Kimmel's show in November. Swalwell announced his 2020 presidential run on Colbert's show seven years ago.
The pair of late-night hosts also ignored GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales announcing his plan to resign after he admitted to sexual misconduct with a staffer earlier this year.
Kimmel and Colbert's monologues often mock and cover the news of the day or previous day. Kimmel covered former President Joe Biden's appearance at Syracuse, the war in Iran, President Donald Trump's feud with Pope Leo and the Jesus picture posted by the president.
The only hint that Kimmel gave to his audience that something might be going on was when the host joked about Biden attending his portrait unveiling. Kimmel quipped of the former president, "Maybe run for the governor of California. It's wide open."
Colbert also continued coverage of the president's controversial post and devoted a segment to the fertility rate.
A representative for both Colbert and Kimmel's shows did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
This is an excerpt from an article by Hanna Panreck.
{{#rendered}}Despite resigning from Congress under a cloud of controversy, former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., remains eligible for a taxpayer-funded congressional pension.
Starting at age 62, Swalwell could receive approximately $22,000 per year, according to a National Taxpayers Union (NTU) analysis obtained by the Washington Examiner.
"He would be eligible for a starting pension of just over $22,000, accounting for the automatic 10% spousal set-aside," Demian Brady, vice president of research at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, told the Examiner.
"This assumes he took steps to maximize his starting pension amount while in office," he added.
The estimate is based on Swalwell’s 2013 start date, his total years of service, and the average salary of his three highest-earning years.
As a member of Congress, Swalwell earned an annual salary of $174,000.
As now-former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., continues to face a reckoning over multiple sexual assault allegations and past scandals, his praise of Hunter Biden and Hunter's wealthy Hollywood "sugar brother" lawyer, who donated tens of thousands of dollars to Swalwell's failed gubernatorial campaign, has resurfaced.
"Eric Swalwell is literally Hunter Biden's biggest cheerleader – from reserving the Senate Swamp to defending the Biden Crime Family's litany of illicit activities," a longtime GOP strategist told Fox News Digital. "Degenerates of a feather flock together."
A campaign filing from earlier this year, amid Swalwell's gubernatorial run in California, revealed that Kevin Morris, who was dubbed Hunter's "sugar brother" for bankrolling his legal bills and lavish lifestyle, donated $29,900 to Swalwell's campaign in February. Swalwell, who reportedly helped orchestrate Hunter's surprise press conference outside the Capitol in December 2023 while he defied the House Oversight Committee's subpoenas to testify behind closed doors, was one of the loudest critics of the GOP investigations into Hunter during the Biden administration.
President Donald Trump issued a Truth Social post backing Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., for re-election earlier this year.
"Cory Mills has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!" the president asserted in the Feb. 10 post.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House on Wednesday asking whether the president still stands by the endorsement now.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who is currently running for governor, has called on Mills to either resign or be expelled from Congress.
Mills is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over whether businesses tied to him improperly held federal contracts during his time in office, a potential violation of House rules. He is also facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and physical assault, which he denies. Aspects of his military record have been publicly questioned.
Mace asserted in a Sunday post on X that Mills, Eric Swalwell, Tony Gonzales, and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick had "proven through their own actions they are unfit to serve."
Mace declared that the four "should resign IMMEDIATELY," adding, "If they don’t, we should expel all of them."
Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., declared in a Monday post on X, "Congress should not tolerate representatives who abuse staff, betray public trust for personal gain, and generally violate their oath of office. Reps. Swalwell, Gonzales, Cherfilus-McCormick, and Mills should resign. If they refuse, they should be expelled. Americans deserve better and Congress must hold our members accountable."
Swalwell and Gonzales resigned on Tuesday.
Last year, the House Ethics Committee voted to create an investigative subcommittee to probe allegations regarding Mills.
The statement released in November by the Ethics Committee chair and ranking member indicated that the probe would pertain to allegations Mills "may have: (1) failed to properly disclose required information on statements required to be filed with the House; (2) violated campaign finance laws and regulations in connection with his 2022 and 2024 election campaigns; (3) improperly solicited and/or received gifts, including in connection with privately sponsored officially-connected travel; (4) received special favors by virtue of his position; (5) engaged in misconduct with respect to allegations of sexual misconduct and/or dating violence; and/or (6) misused congressional resources or status."
A statement released by the Ethics Committee chair and ranking member in January noted, "On December 22, 2025, the Committee received a second referral from the Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC) regarding allegations involving Representative Cory Mills. The allegations in OCC’s referral are within the jurisdiction of the Investigative Subcommittee and will therefore be included in the Investigative Subcommittee’s inquiry."
{{#rendered}}Rep. Eric Swalwell’s political collapse amid scandal was sudden.
With sexual assault and harassment allegations mounting, the Democratic representative who was one of the leading contenders in California’s 2026 campaign for governor dropped out of the race on Sunday. Two days later, he resigned from Congress.
The congressman’s stunningly swift collapse comes seven years after a then 38-year-old Swalwell made a short-lived and highly unsuccessful bid for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination.
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky posted a photo of a trash truck on Wednesday.
"As I walked past the Capitol this morning, I couldn’t help but notice the ironic presence of a garbage truck as two members resign in disgrace and shame," he quipped when sharing the photograph on X.
"I think we’re gonna need a bigger truck," he added in another post.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation on Tuesday setting Aug. 18 as the date for a special election to fill the congressional seat vacated by Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress on Tuesday.
"I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim and order that a special election shall be held on the 18th day of August 2026, within the 14th Congressional District of the State, to fill the vacancy in the office of the U.S. House of Representatives from said district resulting from the resignation of Representative Eric Swalwell," the proclamation declares.
Members from both sides of the political aisle had called for Swalwell to resign or else face expulsion due to accusations against him of sexual misconduct and rape.
{{#rendered}}Amid all the upheaval in the House this week, there is also a special election in New Jersey's 11th Congressional District on Thursday.
Democrat Mikie Sherrill vacated the seat last year after winning the New Jersey gubernatorial contest. She became the Garden State's governor earlier this year.
Democratic congressional candidate Analilia Mejia, who advocates for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is running against Republican Joe Hathaway, a member of the Randolf Township Council.
The U.S. House of Representatives lost two members and gained another on Tuesday as disgraced Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, both resigned, while Rep. Clay Fuller -- a Republican who won the special election last week to fill the seat vacated earlier this year by Marjorie Taylor Greene -- was sworn in to office the same day.
But the turmoil in Congress' lower chamber is ongoing as two lawmakers from Florida — Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Republican Cory Mills — also face pressure to resign.
For example, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., indicated that she was “glad” Swalwell and Gonzales were departing, adding that she thought Mills should also "probably be on that list as well."
Ocasio-Cortez has also indicated that she thinks Cherfilus-McCormick should resign or be expelled from Congress.
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