The fallout from the sexual misconduct scandal that led former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., to resign this week is expanding—only now the focus is drifting toward a different member of Congress.
New allegation traced to earlier posts
Rep.
Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., has accused Sen.
Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., a former close ally of Swalwell, of misconduct “sexual in nature.” Luna said Gallego is the unnamed senator she referenced in earlier social media posts, and she framed the allegations as serious.
In the background, you could almost hear the everyday newsroom hum—keyboard clicks and the faint buzz of someone’s phone—while the details kept coming in.
Luna posted on X last Friday, writing that multiple young women had come forward in recent months with allegations against male members of Congress from both parties, and that leadership had failed to act.
Her wording was direct, almost blunt: “I am not going to act like it is fine.
This is NOT okay.”
There are many young women over the last few months that have come forward about multiple MALE members of congress, both Democrat and Republican and the leadership on both sides has done nothing.
I am not going to act like it is fine.
This is NOT okay.
Let’s also not forget about…— Rep.
Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) April 11, 2026
Days later, she posted again, directing a message to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, urging him to look into what she called “very disturbing” allegations involving a senator.
She said her office would be in contact with his.
The message was short but pointed—another warning, basically, that she believed something was being missed.
“It’s seems like the Senate has its own trash to take out,” Luna wrote, in the post that referenced the allegations and said her chief would be contacting Thune’s chief.
Luna’s account, and Gallego’s denial
In her interview with Misryoum newsroom—Luna told CBS’s Major Garrett—she said a woman is “coming forward with attorneys” and wants to go on the record about an incident she described as sexual in nature.
When asked whether she believed a crime had been committed, Luna said she is not investigating the matter and is instead passing along the information to officials who can act on it.
She also said she believes Thune’s office is now looking into the allegations.
Luna later suggested, without naming Gallego, that certain alleged conduct could rise to a criminal level. Then she moved back into naming him directly. Or maybe that’s the wrong way to say it—she had already been gesturing at an unnamed senator, and now she’s identified who she meant.
Gallego’s response came quickly, at least in the way these things do.
Misryoum newsroom reported a spokesperson for Gallego pushed back, saying: “These are right-wing conspiracy theories being parroted by a fringe far-right member of Congress.
Senator Gallego has not received notification or been contacted by the ethics committee.” The statement didn’t engage with the alleged incident itself—more a dismissal of motive and accuracy.
The connection to Swalwell is part of the context, whether people want it or not.
Swalwell, first elected to Congress in 2012, resigned this week after at least four women — including a staffer — accused him of sexual misconduct dating back to 2018.
He has denied the allegations and said he plans to fight them.
Gallego served in the House from 2015 to 2025 before winning a Senate seat in Arizona, defeating Republican Kari Lake in 2024.
He told reporters this week that he and Swalwell were close, and said he had heard rumors about his behavior but was not aware of any alleged misconduct involving staff.
Gallego has denied any inappropriate conduct of his own—so the dispute now sits in the space between Luna’s claims, her stated intent to route information to officials, and Gallego’s assertion that he has not been notified by the ethics committee.
Where it goes next, though, is still not entirely clear.
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