By Michael Schwarz April 13, 2026 at 8:34am
Not long ago, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California had reasonable hopes of winning his state’s 2026 gubernatorial election.
Now, however, the congressman faces serious allegations of sexual misconduct that even his fellow Democrats cannot ignore.
According to Politico, prominent House Democrats made the rounds on Sunday news shows and called for Congress to expel Swalwell, along with a handful of other legislators embroiled in scandals of their own.
“This shouldn’t be about politics,” Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“Anyone who abuses young girls and staffers should not be in the United States Congress. And many Democrats have said that not only should he resign, there needs to be an investigation in law enforcement. You cannot do what he did. And I believe the survivors.”
Multiple women have accused Swalwell of sexually assaulting them. On Sunday, the congressman suspended his gubernatorial campaign, though he has denied the allegations.
Khanna, perhaps best known for working with Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky to secure the release of files pertaining to the late sex offender and suspected sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, also called for the expulsion of Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas. In March, Gonzales ended his reelection campaign after admitting to an affair with former aide Regina Santos-Aviles.
In September 2025, Santos-Aviles died by suicide after dousing herself with gasoline and lighting herself on fire.
Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida has launched a crusade against legislators who sexually harass and abuse staffers.
It seems Democrats, too, have had enough and will jettison Swalwell if given the opportunity.
“This is not a partisan issue,” Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “This cuts across party line, and it is a depravity of the way that women have been treated. And I’m just inspired by the courage and the bravery of the women who came forward. This is clearly a pattern. I’ve already called for Congressman Swalwell to drop out of the gubernatorial race. And I think we have to hold everybody accountable.”
By “hold everybody accountable,” Jayapal meant expulsion from Congress.
Elsewhere, a slew of House Democrats spoke to Axios on condition of anonymity.
“People feel confident that the allegations against all four are credible,” one House Democrat said, referring to Swalwell, Gonzales, Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida, and Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida.
The House Ethics Committee has investigated Mills for both financial and sexual misconduct. That same committee has already found Cherfilus-McCormick guilty of financial transgressions. Both Mills and Cherfilus-McCormick have denied the allegations against them.
“We want a full house cleaning,” a second House Democrat told Axios. “Get the garbage out of here. These jerks are destroying Congress, for the American people and for all of us who came here to do good work.”
When asked about the prospect of expelling Swalwell and the other three, a senior House Democrat said “I’m interested.”
“I think there’s an appetite to do it and just rip the Band-Aid off once,” a fourth House Democrat said. That same Democrat, however, called such a purge “probably hard to accomplish.”
Indeed, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries prefer to wait for what Axios called “sufficient due process.”
Nonetheless, the allegations against Swalwell appear to have opened the floodgates.
“This Eric thing has stunned many,” another House Democrat said. “I have never seen people be so swift in condemning.”
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