How Democrats’ sudden reckoning with Eric Swalwell sex abuse allegations could rock the House

Democratic members of Congress are joining calls for Rep. Eric Swalwell’s resignation from office as he battles allegations of sexual misconduct that forced him out of the running for California's next governor. But he’s far from the only lawmaker on the potential chopping block. Democrats and Republicans are aligning behind efforts to boot House members from both parties accused of sexual harassment and abuse, which could trigger a series of expulsion votes against other members who have recently been accused of misconduct in office.The House has only expelled six members within its history. Another four could face removal efforts in this year alone.Several GOP members have agreed to expel Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, who is also facing allegations of abuse involving a staff member, if he does not resign.House members could also come for Republican Rep. Cory Mills, who is under House Ethics Committee investigation for allegations of domestic violence and campaign finance violations, and Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who was found last month to have committed 25 ethics violations to support her campaign.Several Democrats and Republicans are aligning behind proposals to vote to expel Rep. Eric Swalwell from office after he was accused of sexually assaulting a former aide and other misconduct (REUTERS)Republican Rep. Mike Lawler is calling for a vote to expel Swalwell, Gonzales and Cherfilus-McCormick, and GOP Rep. Nancy Mace wants Mills in that number.“Time to clean House,” he wrote on Sunday. “These members have proven through their own actions they are unfit to serve.”Republican Rep. Byron Donalds told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that he would support the expulsion of both Swalwell and Gonzales.“I will be voting yes on both measures,” he said. “These allegations are despicable and they demean the integrity of Congress. These things are just completely unacceptable … As far as I’m concerned, both gentlemen need to go home.”In his call for Swalwell to resign, Democratic Rep. Eugene Vindman told CNN on Sunday that “we should not tolerate this behavior.”“We’ve grown far too accustomed to having our elected officials fall far below what we expect their behavior to be,” he added.Democrats and Republicans are also calling for the resignation or expulsion of GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales, who is accused of sending explicit texts to a now-dead former aide and coercing her into a sexual relationship (Getty)Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal said she also would support their expulsion. She told Meet the Press that it was “important for staffers across the Capitol to see that their bosses don’t get to do this to them.”Rep. Jared Huffman, who like Swalwell is a Democrat representing California, said he would support a vote to expel both Swalwell and Gonzales if they don’t resign first.Rep. Sam Liccardo, another California Democrat, said Swalwell “must halt his campaign, resign from office, and face the consequences of a full investigation.”“Democrats must not equivocate in the face of uncomfortable allegations about one of our own,” he added.When, and how quickly, they’re removed from office, if at all, could upend House Speaker Mike Johnson’s control of the floor while lawmakers are grappling with Donald Trump’s legislative agenda, the Iran war, and how to end a long-running Homeland Security shutdown — all in a critical period before midterm elections that could see Republicans lose control of the chamber.House Speaker Mike Johnson risks having to juggle an unstable House amid a critical period before midterm elections that could see Republicans lose control of the balance of power in Congress (Getty Images)The House Ethics Committee is among the last vestiges of bipartisanship in a fractured Capitol. While the body is made up of an equal number from both parties, an unspoken rule stipulates that one party should be willing to sacrifice a beleaguered member in exchange for the other party giving up one of their own.But the bar is high. The Senate expelled 15 members who joined the Confederacy in the aftermath of the Civil War, and only six House members have been removed from office by a vote of their peers in the chamber’s 236-year history. Expulsion requires two-thirds of the House to vote in the affirmative.Historically, members of Congress have resigned in shame instead or were only expelled once they were convicted of a crime, as was the case of Democratic Rep. Michael Meyers in 1980 after he was convicted of bribery, and Democratic Rep. James Traficant, who was kicked out of office in 2022 after he was convicted of bribery, racketeering and tax evasion.But former Rep. George Santos, the scandal-ridden serial fabulist from New York, changed this dynamic.The Ethics Committee found that he had used campaign dollars for personal expenses, misled the Federal Election Commission and committed fraud. The House voted to expel him before he was convicted on federal charges — for which Trump later pardoned him.Santos has suggested his former colleagues should drop out before they’re on the receiving end of a vote to remove them.“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,” he wrote on Sunday.