California Representative Eric Swalwell has resigned from Congress following mounting pressure from both Democrats and Republicans after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced.
The 45-year-old lawmaker who has served in the House since 2013 announced Monday that he would step down after the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into the accusations. Swalwell has denied the allegations, calling them “serious, false” claims, but said he would still leave office.
“However, I must take responsibility and ownership of the mistakes I did make,” Swalwell said in a statement, without explaining what those mistakes were.
He remains eligible for pension, congressional gym membership
Despite resigning during a scandal, Eric Swalwell will still receive his congressional pension, federal health care benefits, access to the House floor, and membership in the congressional gym, the same benefits given to all former members of Congress, no matter how they leave office, as per New York Post.
This may help Swalwell who is considered one of the less wealthy members of Congress. Reports say he used his retirement savings to support his California gubernatorial campaign. He earned about $184,000 as a congressional salary in 2024, according to the Daily Mail.
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What led to his resignation?
Eric Swalwell is a Democrat from Dublin who has been in the House since 2013, stepped down after several women accused him of sexual misconduct, including a former staffer who alleged rape. His resignation came under strong pressure from both parties and just hours after a formal ethics investigation began.
The allegations were first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN. Lawmakers from both parties reacted strongly, calling the accusations “disgusting” and demanding that he resign or be removed from office.
On Monday, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into the claims. At the same time, Anna Paulina Luna said she was preparing to file a motion to expel him from the House with a possible vote as early as Wednesday. She said the move was based on claims that he broke House rules through an alleged inappropriate relationship with a subordinate.
In New York, the Manhattan district attorney’s office also opened an investigation into sexual assault allegations made by a former staffer. Officials urged “survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations to contact our Special Victims Division.”
With the threat of expulsion, a criminal investigation and pressure from both parties, Swalwell announced Monday night that he would resign. He had already suspended his campaign for California governor the day before.
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What did Swalwell say?
In his resignation statement, Eric Swalwell denied the allegations and called them “serious, false” accusations. At the same time, he admitted that he had made some mistakes, but did not explain what they were.
“However, I must take responsibility and ownership of the mistakes I did make,” he wrote.
He also disagreed with the effort to expel him, saying it would be wrong to remove a member of Congress “without due process, within days of an allegation being made.” But he said it was also not right for his work to be affected.
“But it is also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress,” he said.