Two US Congress members to resign amid sexual misconduct allegations
Two US Representatives, Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales, announced resignations amid sexual misconduct allegations and ethics investigations. Swalwell denied claims but apologized, while Gonzales faced mounting pressure over an alleged affair and a staffer’s tragic death
New York: Two members of the US House of Representatives who are facing expulsion over sexual misconduct allegations have announced that they are resigning.
Democrat Eric Swalwell, who was also running for governor of California, announced on X on Monday that he was resigning from Congress, even as he made a contradictory statement insisting the allegations were false, but also saying he was sorry for “mistakes in judgment”.
Swalwell, who was seen as a rising star in the party, had announced on Sunday that he was suspending his campaign for governor.
Republican Tony Gonzales, who had resisted calls to quit after a staffer committed suicide amid allegations he coerced her to have an affair, also announced his intention to resign with a cryptic line, “There is a season for everything, and God has a plan for us all”.
Swalwell is facing a criminal investigation in New York City, where one of the four women who have made allegations against him said he sexually attacked her at a city hotel. The other three women alleged sexual misconduct and harassment by Swalwell, who is a married father with three children.
The House Ethics Committee said that it was investigating the allegations against him, and a Republican House member had said she would bring a motion in the chamber to expel him. Regina Santos-Aviles, who worked for Gonzales, committed suicide last year by setting herself on fire.
Gonzales denied he had an affair with her or that he was connected to her death, but later admitted to the affair. Text messages he had sent her and her message to another staffer about her affair surfaced, adding to the pressure on him.
Another staffer accused Gonzales, who is married and has six children, of allegedly asking for nude pictures and for sex. Swalwell dropping out of the governor’s race raised hopes for his party that faced the prospect of being shut out of the gubernatorial election because of the way California primaries are set up.
In California, the primaries are non-partisan, and the two top candidates run in the election regardless of party affiliation. At least ten Democrats were running in the primary, and it was feared that if the party’s votes were split among them, the two Republicans could emerge as the top two candidates and run in November, ensuring that the Republicans win with either of them.
Swalwell was among the four Democrats at the top of the polls, with none exceeding 16 per cent, and his dropping out of the race raising the possibility of voters coalescing around one of them, opening the possibility that a Democrat would be among the top two in the primary.
