Swalwell resigns from Congress amid sexual misconduct allegations, special election looms

Eric Swalwell said he will resign from Congress, ending a fast-moving political collapse after multiple women accused the California Democrat of sexual misconduct and his own party moved to distance itself from him. His departure will force a special election in California’s 14th Congressional District, where he had won reelection by more than 20 percentage points in 2022.

Swalwell had already suspended his California governor campaign on April 12, 2026, after the pressure became impossible to ignore. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi both called on him to leave the race, and more than 50 former Swalwell staffers urged him not only to quit the governor’s contest but also to resign from Congress. That swift public break from allies underscored how quickly the allegations moved from campaign liability to a broader test of institutional accountability.

The allegations are serious and specific. Four women have accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct, including a former staffer who said he raped her in April 2024 while she was heavily intoxicated. Three other women said he sent unsolicited explicit messages or nude photos. Swalwell denied the allegations and said they were false. He also said he was sorry to his family, staff, friends and supporters when he suspended his campaign.

The legal and ethics fallout is still unfolding. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is investigating an allegation that Swalwell sexually assaulted a woman in New York City in April 2024, and the House Ethics Committee had also been investigating the allegations. That parallel scrutiny placed the matter squarely inside both the criminal justice system and the congressional ethics process, where demands for accountability can carry different standards but the same political consequences.

Swalwell’s resignation leaves Democrats facing a vacant House seat in a district he held comfortably, and it renews questions about how quickly party leaders act when misconduct allegations become public. In this case, the response from leadership, former staffers and federal investigators arrived quickly enough to end one campaign and likely one congressional career, while setting the stage for a costly special election and another public test of trust in Congress.