Rep. Eric Swalwell's political free fall after sexual assault allegations has opened a door that neither party may be able to close. What began as calls to remove one California Democrat from Congress has ballooned into a bipartisan push to expel as many as four sitting House members, two Democrats, two Republicans, in what could become the most sweeping disciplinary reckoning on Capitol Hill in modern memory.
Swalwell ended his California gubernatorial bid on Sunday after being accused of sexually assaulting a former aide and other instances of misconduct. But rather than containing the fallout, his collapse set off a chain reaction. Lawmakers from both parties are now demanding votes to remove not just Swalwell but also Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, Rep. Cory Mills of Florida, and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, each facing separate accusations of serious wrongdoing, as The Hill reported.
The timing threatens to upend Speaker Mike Johnson's already fragile control of the House floor. With a razor-thin GOP majority and multiple privileged resolutions potentially forcing votes within two legislative days of notice, the chamber could spend much of the coming weeks consumed by ethics debates rather than legislation.
Swalwell's troubles accelerated fast. The San Francisco Chronicle and CNN published allegations from multiple women, and the political ground gave way beneath him. His own congressional and campaign staffers issued an unsigned statement saying they were "horrified" by the reports, which detailed four sexual assault allegations including a claim by a former staffer that Swalwell raped her twice while she worked in his California and Washington offices, the Washington Examiner reported.
In suspending his gubernatorial campaign, Swalwell posted on X that he would "fight the serious, false allegations that have been made, but that's my fight, not a campaign's." He has denied the accusations. But the denials did not stop a parade of fellow Democrats from publicly calling on him to step aside.
Nancy Pelosi said the accuser "must be respected and heard." Reps. Jared Huffman, Pramila Jayapal, Teresa Leger Fernandez, Ro Khanna, Sam Liccardo, and others all called for Swalwell to resign from Congress entirely, Breitbart reported. Jayapal framed the matter bluntly: "This is not a partisan issue. This cuts across party lines. And it is depravity of the way that women have been treated."
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, said over the weekend she will file a motion to expel Swalwell and is inquiring whether she can pair that with a motion to expel Gonzales. Rep. Byron Donalds, also a Florida Republican, said he would vote to expel both men. The bipartisan nature of the calls is striking, and it is precisely what makes the situation so volatile for House leadership.
Swalwell is not the only member whose conduct has drawn formal scrutiny. Rep. Tony Gonzales admitted earlier this year that he had an affair with a former congressional staffer who later died after setting herself on fire. He is also accused of sending sexually explicit messages to a former campaign aide. The affair led to an Ethics Committee referral, and Gonzales ended his bid for reelection in March.
Rep. Cory Mills faces a House Ethics Committee investigation over allegations of dating violence, campaign finance violations, and more. A former girlfriend obtained a restraining order against him last year for harassment. Another simultaneous girlfriend accused him of assault before quickly recanting. Mills has denied wrongdoing.
Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina had previously brought a resolution to censure Mills and remove him from committees. The House voted in November to refer that measure to the Ethics Committee. Now Mace has gone further, adding Mills to the list of members she wants expelled outright. She posted on X on Sunday with a message aimed at all four:
"Time to clean House. These members have proven through their own actions they are unfit to serve."
Then there is Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Florida Democrat facing perhaps the most concrete legal jeopardy of the group. An Ethics subcommittee found last month that she had committed 25 Ethics violations related to allegedly using millions in improperly paid federal disaster funds to finance her campaign. She is being criminally prosecuted in a federal case over the matter. She has denied wrongdoing.
The Ethics Committee will hold a public hearing on April 21 to determine what sanctions are appropriate against Cherfilus-McCormick. Rep. Greg Steube, another Florida Republican, has a resolution to expel her that has been waiting since her federal indictment was announced in December. He recently told The Hill he is holding off until the Ethics panel completes its process.
Here is what makes this more than a series of individual scandals: the House's own rules could force the issue. A privileged resolution to reprimand a member triggers a requirement that the chamber act within two legislative days of notice. If Luna files her motion upon the House's return this week, the clock starts immediately.
Rep. Mike Lawler of New York called for votes to expel Swalwell, Gonzales, and Cherfilus-McCormick when the House returns, if they do not resign first. That kind of pressure, combined with Luna's planned motion, could produce a floor fight that consumes the legislative calendar and forces members into uncomfortable recorded votes.
Expulsion requires a two-thirds supermajority. That is a high bar. The House twice rejected attempts to expel former Rep. George Santos before eventually removing him after the Ethics panel released its investigation. Santos himself weighed in on X, advising the current crop of embattled members to resign rather than face the indignity of removal.
"There is NO dignity in being expelled if I could go back in time I'd do it differently, I'd do it in my own term."
Santos described himself as "the only living former member of Congress that was expelled from the institution." It is a distinction none of the four current targets would want to share.
Speaker Johnson has long argued in favor of letting the Ethics panel complete its investigations before the chamber takes action to punish members. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has similarly called for the process to play out when asked about Cherfilus-McCormick. Both leaders now face a rank-and-file that may not be willing to wait.
The political math offers an unusual incentive for action. Because the potential targets include two Democrats and two Republicans, neither party would gain a net advantage from a mass expulsion. As one House Democrat told Axios, per Newsmax's reporting, "People feel confident that the allegations against all four are credible." That bipartisan confidence, rare in this Congress, may be what makes a multi-member purge plausible for the first time in decades.
Johnson's dilemma is real. His majority is already threadbare, and any floor disruption carries risk. The House has struggled this session to pass even routine measures, as seen when DHS funding narrowly cleared the chamber with cross-party defections. A week of expulsion debates would compound the problem.
But the alternative, stalling while four members accused of serious misconduct remain in their seats, carries its own political cost. Voters sent this Congress to Washington to govern, not to warehouse members under ethics clouds.
The immediate flashpoints are clear. Luna's motion could land as early as this week. The Cherfilus-McCormick hearing is set for April 21. Steube's expulsion resolution sits ready. And the broader question of whether the House will act on Gonzales and Mills remains open.
Democrats who once might have circled the wagons around Swalwell have instead joined Republicans in calling for accountability. That shift matters. It suggests the political incentive structure has changed, that protecting an accused colleague now costs more than cutting him loose. The ongoing reshuffling of House seats only adds to the sense that this Congress is in flux.
Whether the chamber musters two-thirds to expel anyone remains uncertain. But the fact that members of both parties are openly drafting the paperwork tells you something about where the pressure is heading.
For years, Congress has treated its own ethics process as a parking lot, a place to send uncomfortable problems so they can sit indefinitely. The Swalwell scandal may have finally towed the cars out.
