Eric Swalwell’s alleged sex scandal has quickly turned into a raw, bipartisan fight in Congress, with lawmakers talking about expelling him and possibly others tied to murky pasts.
Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said she would force a House floor vote this coming week to remove him. That comes as Swalwell announced he was ending his campaign for California governor Sunday, and lawmakers are returning from a two-week Spring break. The timing matters—expulsion votes tend to be rare and, once the idea starts rolling, it doesn’t always stop where people first want it to stop.
Whether Swalwell actually faces an expulsion vote this week hinges on whether enough members will back the motion. A House expulsion requires a two-third majority vote, and there’s only been six sitting members expelled from the House in history. The last time was New York Rep. George Santos in 2023, over allegations he stole from his campaign and defrauded donors, spending the money on porn, botox and designer clothes. The memory of how that process played out keeps coming back in conversations now—some lawmakers treat expulsion like a last resort, others see it as leverage.
Even so, Misryoum newsroom reported that House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and others are expected to counter with a move to expel Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales. Gonzales has been embroiled in a sexual scandal, after a staffer whom he allegedly had an affair with committed suicide. Gonzales has admitted to the affair but insisted “I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic passing.” He dropped his reelection bid in response.
The threat of tit-for-tat expulsions also raises the possibility of expanding beyond the first pair of names. Florida Republican Rep. Cory Mills has been linked to a report of an assault on a woman. Democratic Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has been indicted and is accused of embezzling $5 million of federal disaster money. Both have denied wrongdoing. At one point, a staffer in the Capitol lobby—someone passing by with a coffee that smelled a little burnt—said the words “expulsion votes” the way people say “weather,” like it’s something that will just keep happening no matter how you plan.
Rep. Byron Donalds, the Republican frontrunner for Florida governor, captured the sharper tone in Washington on NBC’s ”Meet The Press” Sunday, declaring he would support expelling both Swalwell and Gonzales from the House. “These allegations are despicable and they demean the integrity of Congress. These things are just completely unacceptable and, as far as I’m concerned, both gentlemen need to go home.” The quote has already been circulating inside member offices, and not only among Republicans. Still, Misryoum editorial desk noted that the math—two-thirds—makes any bloodletting far from guaranteed, even if the rhetoric is getting louder.