Swalwell, Gonzales Officially Resign from Congress After Colleagues Threatened To Expel Them

Congressmen Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales are officially ex-lawmakers, with both men resigning their seats on Tuesday. The two men were under threat of being expelled from the House by their colleagues. Mr. Swalwell’s fall from grace is one of the swiftest collapses of a politician’s standing in modern American history. On Friday, he was a favorite to become the next governor of California. Now, he will return home as a disgraced former congressman accused of rape by two women, and sexual harassment by several more. He has denied allegations that he harassed or assaulted anyone. Mr. Gonzales became a kind of sacrifice for the GOP, with a number of Republicans agreeing to expel him so long as Democrats kicked Mr. Swalwell out. Mr. Gonzales has admitted to having an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. Earlier this year, he faced calls to resign, but instead simply suspended his re-election campaign. As the House began its debate session on Tuesday afternoon, the House clerk read both men’s resignation letters into the record. In their respective letters, Mr. Swalwell apologized to his family and staff, while Mr. Gonzales thanked his constituents for giving him the opportunity to serve them. After Mr. Swalwell was accused of sexually assaulting a former staffer on Friday, the Democrats who had endorsed him in the gubernatorial race swiftly withdrew their support, and some went so far as to tell him to drop out of the race altogether. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a close ally and friend of Mr. Swalwell’s, was among those who advised him to leave the race, her office said in a statement. By Sunday, a Republican, Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, and a Democrat, Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández, said they had agreed to introduce resolutions to expel both Messrs. Swalwell and Gonzales. On Monday, both men announced that they would resign. On Tuesday, around the same time Mr. Swalwell submitted his resignation letter to Speaker Mike Johnson, the now-former congressman was accused of rape by a second woman. Lonna Drewes said in a press conference that Mr. Swalwell raped and choked her in a hotel room in 2018 after possibly drugging her. “I self-medicated in an unhealthy way. I did not want to live anymore. I cried all the time for years,” Ms. Drewes told reporters. Her attorney announced that evidence of the alleged rape would promptly be submitted to the Los Angeles County Sherrif’s office. The expulsion drama may not be over, however. Ms. Luna is threatening to introduce a resolution to kick out another Democrat, Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who has been indicted for allegedly stealing millions of dollars from a Covid-era FEMA program. She denies the allegations. The House Ethics Committee has already found that Ms. Cherfilus-McCormick violated House rules by using the allegedly stolen funds to pay for a congressional campaign. She is likely to face — at the very minimum — a censure resolution on the floor in the coming days now that the Ethics Committee report has been released. In another kind of trade for expelling Ms. Cherfilus-McCormick, some Democrats have floated the idea of removing Congressman Cory Mills from the House. Mr. Mills has been accused of doing federal contracting work while a sitting House member, which is against the chamber’s rules. He is also accused of stalking an ex-girlfriend, though the Ethics Committee has not yet released its report. Speaker Mike Johnson has thrown cold water on the idea that Mr. Mills can be expelled. It takes two-thirds of the House — or 290 votes — to remove a member. “I’m a jealous guardian of due process around here,” Mr. Johnson told reporters Tuesday, arguing that Ms. Cherfilus-McCormick’s conduct “certainly rises to the level” of expulsion. “With regard to Mills,” he cautioned, “I’m not sure of the status of these committee investigations and that’s one of the things I’ll be looking into today.”

Swalwell, Gonzales Officially Resign from Congress After Colleagues Threatened To Expel Them

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