Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) plans to force a vote to expel Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) next week over sexual assault and misconduct allegations, Axios has learned. Swalwell denies the allegations.
Why it matters: Democrats are set to respond by moving in turn to expel Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who's being investigated by House Ethics over sexual misconduct allegations, two Democratic leadership aides told Axios.
- Swalwell has faced calls from Democratic Party leaders and House colleagues to drop his bid for California governor, though few have called for his outright resignation or expulsion from Congress.
- Swalwell said in a video posted to social media on Friday: "These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They are absolutely false. They did not happen, they never happened."
- Gonzales, who has dropped his bid for reelection, admitted to an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, calling it a "lapse in judgment."
Driving the news: The San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday that a former staffer accused Swalwell of sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions, including a first instance in 2019.
- Shortly after the Chronicle story published, CNN ran a detailed report with four women accusing Swalwell of various acts of sexual misconduct.
- In his denial video, Swalwell apologized to his wife for unspecified mistakes.
State of play: Swalwell is shedding endorsements fast, with even Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), one of his campaign chairs, rescinding his support.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have called for Swalwell to end his gubernatorial campaign.
- Swalwell's page on the Democratic fundraising site ActBlue was also pulled down on Friday.
The bottom line: If those expulsion votes succeed, it could trigger a chain reaction, one of the Democrats leadership aides and a senior House Democrat told Axios.
- That could involve members forcing expulsion votes against Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) and Cory Mills (R-Fla.), they said.
- But these votes require a two-thirds majority to pass, and lawmakers have tended to stop short of expelling members in the absence of a criminal conviction or a completed House Ethics Committee process.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect Rep. Eric Swalwell responded to allegations against him in a video on Friday (not Saturday).
