Federal Election Commission records show that then-Rep. Eric Swalwell and now-Sen. Ruben Gallego both charged campaign funds to Puerto Rico luxury resorts on the same June 2021 day that a wedding guest's Instagram post tagged one of those resorts as the location of Gallego's wedding ceremony. The spending raises pointed questions about whether donor money bankrolled personal celebrations, a use federal law explicitly prohibits.
Swalwell's campaign operation recorded two payments at the Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico totaling $1,522.11 on June 7, 2021, the New York Post reported. Gallego's political operation spent $2,000 at the nearby Fairmont El San Juan on the same date. And Rep. Linda Sanchez's campaign records show $1,809.79 charged to the Hyatt Regency, plus a $540.93 "lodging deposit" booked on May 18, 2021.
The Politico Playbook edition for Monday, June 7, 2021, indicated Swalwell was present at the wedding. An Instagram post from a wedding guest tagged the Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve as the ceremony's location that same day. Yet neither Gallego nor Swalwell has publicly posted photos together from the event, the Daily Mail reported.
Gallego and Sydney Barron Gallego were legally married in December 2019 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The couple went public with their engagement in February 2020, ahead of what was described as a June 2021 ceremony in Puerto Rico. That timeline means the island event was a celebration for a couple already legally wed, making the case for classifying resort charges as legitimate campaign expenses even harder to sustain.
Federal law prohibits the use of campaign funds for personal expenses. The FEC filings do not reveal what purpose, if any, the campaigns listed for the resort charges. That gap matters. If the expenses were logged as "fundraising" or "travel," the underlying reality of a wedding weekend at a tropical resort would still need to square with the law.
Sydney Barron Gallego works as Director of Government Advocacy at the National Association of Realtors, focusing on housing and legislative strategy targeting House Democrats. She previously worked on Hillary Clinton's campaign and with the Senate Democrats' campaign arm. Her professional ties to Democratic fundraising circles add another layer to the question of who benefited from the resort spending and why multiple members' campaign accounts were tapped for the same weekend at the same destination.
The Puerto Rico spending is not the first time Gallego's personal life has intersected uncomfortably with his public conduct. Court records show he informed his then-wife, Kate Gallego, on December 15, 2016, that their marriage was over. He moved to seal the divorce filings that same day, citing their status as "high-profile public officials" and the likelihood of media scrutiny.
Kate Gallego, who was later elected to the Phoenix City Council and then Mayor of Phoenix in March 2019, said in those filings that she was unaware of his intention to end the marriage. She described herself as "without knowledge" of his claim that the marriage was "irretrievably broken." The divorce was finalized in April 2017.
Gallego later fought efforts by the Washington Free Beacon to unseal the divorce records. The impulse to keep personal matters hidden is understandable for any public figure. But a pattern emerges: seal the divorce, fight the press, then charge a wedding celebration to campaign donors while the public remains in the dark.
The resort spending resurfaced amid a far larger crisis engulfing Swalwell. The California congressman recently announced he would resign from Congress after being hit with multiple sexual misconduct allegations. He also suspended his campaign for California governor shortly before stepping down.
A former staffer accused Swalwell of sexually assaulting her twice when she was too intoxicated to consent, Newsmax reported, citing the San Francisco Chronicle's original account. Swalwell denied the allegations and sent the woman a cease-and-desist letter threatening legal action if she did not recant. Following that report, staffers resigned, endorsers withdrew support, and allies urged him to drop out.
The fallout widened further when a woman named Lonna Drewes publicly accused Swalwell of raping her at a Southern California hotel in 2018 after she believes she was drugged. AP News reported that Drewes said she plans to file a report with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and her attorney indicated journal entries, text messages, and photographs would be included.
"I did not consent to any sexual activity," Drewes said. Swalwell's attorney, Sara Azari, responded that "He categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him."
Among those who withdrew their endorsement of Swalwell's gubernatorial bid was Adam Schiff. "I am withdrawing my endorsement immediately, and believe that he should withdraw from the race," Schiff said. Gallego also pulled his endorsement. The rush by prominent Democrats to distance themselves from Swalwell came only after the allegations became public, not before.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Gallego addressed his relationship with Swalwell. He said he had no knowledge of any inappropriate behavior, though he acknowledged he had heard Swalwell was "flirty." He also said he had reached out to Swalwell's wife through a mutual acquaintance as the allegations surfaced.
Gallego told reporters that Swalwell "lied to all of us" and "became very good at being a predator." He added:
"And it hurts, the fact that he hurt a lot of people, and it p***** me off that now we all have to deal with all of his BS, his family, the poor victims that are still going to have to seek justice."
Strong words from a man who, just four years earlier, spent $2,000 of campaign money at a resort near the same venue where Swalwell's campaign dropped another $1,500, all on the same weekend, all in Puerto Rico, all during what appears to have been Gallego's own wedding celebration. If Swalwell "lied to all of us," the question remains: what exactly were donors told about where their money was going?
The broader fallout from the Swalwell scandal has already touched other House members. But the FEC records linking Gallego and Sanchez to the same resort weekend suggest the accountability questions extend well beyond one disgraced congressman.
Several questions remain unanswered. The FEC filings do not specify what purpose the campaigns assigned to the resort charges. No public statement from Gallego, Swalwell, or Sanchez has explained why campaign accounts, not personal funds, covered these costs. Neither Gallego's Senate office nor Sanchez's congressional office has addressed the spending on the record.
It is also unclear what, if any, FEC review or complaint has been initiated. Federal campaign finance law draws a bright line between campaign expenses and personal ones. A destination wedding celebration at a Caribbean resort sits squarely on the personal side of that line, unless the campaigns can demonstrate a legitimate political purpose for the charges.
Swalwell, for his part, was active on the House Judiciary Committee and played a prominent role in efforts tied to Donald Trump's impeachment. His public persona was that of a crusader for accountability. The congressional push to hold him accountable for his own conduct arrived only after years of colleagues looking the other way.
Gallego won his Senate seat in November 2024. He now sits in a body that oversees the very federal agencies responsible for enforcing campaign finance law. His willingness to condemn Swalwell's personal behavior stands in contrast to the silence around his own campaign's resort spending.
Voters deserve to know whether their donations funded a wedding party. Until Gallego, Swalwell, and Sanchez answer that question directly, the FEC records speak for themselves, and what they say isn't flattering.
