Eric Swalwell to resign from Congress : NPR

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., is resigning from his seat in Congress as he faces rising backlash to allegations of sexual assault and misconduct.

In a press release posted to social media Monday, Swalwell acknowledged rising calls amongst lawmakers to expel him from the Home of Representatives.

“Expelling anybody in Congress with out due course of, inside days of an allegation being made, is mistaken. However it’s additionally mistaken for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Due to this fact, I plan to resign my seat in Congress,” Swalwell mentioned.

Swalwell’s resolution comes simply in the future after he introduced he was suspending his marketing campaign for governor of California. It marks a fall from political grace for the seven-term Democrat, who had broadly been seen as a frontrunner within the gubernatorial race.

Swalwell, 45, has been embattled in controversy since final week, when rumors started to flow into on-line concerning the congressman and an alleged historical past of abusive habits towards ladies. By Friday, the controversy gained new momentum after at the least 4 ladies spoke with the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN, detailing their experiences, which vary from undesirable sexual advances by Swalwell to allegations of rape. 

NPR has not independently verified the allegations towards Swalwell, however he has adamantly denied them and vowed to struggle again.

“To my household, employees, mates, and supporters, I’m deeply sorry for errors in judgment I’ve made in my previous,” he had mentioned in a submit Sunday saying he would droop his bid for governor. “I’ll struggle the intense, false allegations which have been made — however that is my struggle, not a marketing campaign’s.” 

Swalwell didn’t say when his resignation would take impact, however as soon as it does, California Gov. Gavin Newsom would have 14 days to name a particular election to fill the emptiness. The Bay Space seat is in a safely Blue district that Kamala Harris carried over President Trump in 2024 by 35 factors.

Democratic leaders moved to rapidly condemn Swalwell after the allegations started to floor, with high marketing campaign supporters renouncing their assist — together with Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and former Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. 

Greater than 50 former Swalwell staffers known as for him to resign, as high Democrats within the Home issued a press release calling for a “swift investigation.”

On Monday, the Home Ethics Committee introduced it was launching an investigation into whether or not Swalwell “might have engaged in sexual misconduct, together with in direction of an worker working beneath his supervision.”

His resignation successfully ends that investigation.

The scandal has fueled an ongoing debate throughout the halls of Congress over methods to deal with allegations of wrongdoing by lawmakers. Even earlier than the Swalwell allegations got here to mild, a handful of Republican and Democratic Home members had been demanding that Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, step down over allegations of a previous affair with a employees member who later died by suicide.  

Gonzales admitted to the affair in March and later dropped his bid for reelection — although he didn’t instantly resign his seat. Shortly after Swalwell introduced his resignation, Gonzales posted on social media that he deliberate to file his retirement from Congress on Tuesday.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla. has led a push to expel each members. She has additionally sought the ouster of Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who was indicted final yr on fees of stealing $5 million in federal catastrophe funds. The Florida Democrat has denied the allegations. 

“I do not care what the get together affiliation is, if they’re corrupt and interesting in criminality in Congress I will vote to expel them.” Luna wrote. “It’s time Congress has home cleansing.”