As the Japanese say, ‘sayonara.’ Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) has officially resigned from Congress amid a wave of controversy that ended his political career in less than 72 hours. He withdrew from the California gubernatorial race on Sunday and announced his resignation from Congress last night. A specific departure date has not been set. Earlier today, another woman claimed she was brutally raped by Swalwell in 2018. This afternoon, Swalwell’s departure became official. He’s gone… now.
I have just been notified that Eric Swalwell has officially submitted his resignation to the House Clerk.
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) April 14, 2026
Effective immediately.
BREAKING: Reps Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Tony Gonzalez (R-TX) have both just officially resigned from Congress. The House clerk just read off both of their resignation letters.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 14, 2026
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) was especially aggressive in making sure Swalwell didn’t hang around the House.
Wow - Swalwell accuser claims he drugged and violently r*ped her.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 14, 2026
This is hard to watch. pic.twitter.com/BQhd7c2lbC
The California liberal and former frontrunner in California’s gubernatorial primary was blindsided by a wave of sexual misconduct and rape allegations that resulted in him losing all of his endorsements and prompted an official investigation by the Manhattan DA’s office.
A former staffer of Swalwell alleges she was assaulted by the congressman twice: once in 2019 when she worked for him, and again at a 2024 charity event in New York City. She was no longer on his staff when the second accusation occurred. It was over—no one is writing checks to a candidate under investigation for sexual assault.
Jen Van Laar at RedState clued us in on what's going on, as California Democrats scramble:
Tuesday's Politico's California Playbook covered the latest about Dems jockeying to fill the power vacuum:
California Democrats are maneuvering quickly in the aftermath of Swalwell’s precipitous fall.
Even before he announced his resignation from Congress on Monday, the race to succeed him was underway …. Contenders to fill his solidly blue Bay Area seat include state Sen. Aisha Wahab and Bay Area Rapid Transit board president Melissa Hernandez.
Meanwhile, Swalwell’s collapse is forcing California’s political establishment to reassess who to support for governor. Powerful labor unions, interest groups and consultants had lined up behind Swalwell’s campaign in recent weeks as his campaign appeared to gain momentum.
Within hours of his resignation, there were at least five new polls funded by outside super PACs underway to assess the remaining field, strategists told Playbook. As one prominent Sacramento power player, granted anonymity to speak freely, quipped, those powerful interests are now “picking through the trash bin to see what’s salvageable.”
H/T RedState