Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped his California gubernatorial bid late Sunday under pressure from his own party's leadership, but the same Democrats who pushed him out of that race have gone conspicuously quiet on the harder question: Should the 45-year-old congressman keep his seat in the House?
At least four women have accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct. The House Ethics Committee announced Monday that it will investigate the accusations. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office is separately probing at least one allegation involving a former staffer in New York, reportedly from 2024. One woman was allegedly left bleeding and bruised.
And yet the top three House Democrats, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California, have not called for Swalwell's expulsion or even his resignation from Congress. Their offices did not respond to fresh requests for comment from the New York Post, instead referring reporters back to a joint statement issued last week.
That statement asked for a "swift investigation" and told Swalwell to quit the governor's race. It said nothing about quitting Congress.
The joint statement from Jeffries, Clark, and Aguilar read in part:
"This is unacceptable of anyone, certainly not an elected official, and must be taken seriously. We commend the courageous women for sharing their experiences."
The leaders also called "for a swift investigation into these incidents and for the Congressman to immediately end his campaign to be California's next Governor." Swalwell complied with the campaign demand late Sunday. But the statement drew a careful line: drop the governor's race, not the House seat.
Nancy Pelosi, the top California Democrat in the House and a figure whose political moves always draw attention, also did not respond to the Post's request for comment on possible expulsion. Pelosi, who has faced her own share of public backlash recently, has offered no public position on whether Swalwell should remain in Congress.
A Democratic aide described the situation more bluntly, telling the Post there is "real hesitation" among party leaders to push for expulsion. The aide predicted Swalwell "either resigns or is expelled within a week or so", but that prediction came from a staffer, not from leadership.
Swalwell, a married father of three, has tried to split the difference in his public statements. He pledged to "fight the serious, false allegations" while simultaneously apologizing for "mistakes in judgment I've made in my past." Those two positions sit uneasily together. If the allegations are false, what mistakes in judgment require an apology?
The California Democrat had already been in political hot water before these accusations surfaced. He was previously scrutinized for his interactions with Christine Fang, described as a suspected Chinese spy. That episode raised questions about Swalwell's judgment but did not cost him his seat or his committee assignments in the long run.
Now the stakes are higher. Multiple women have come forward. A district attorney's office is involved. And the House Ethics Committee has opened a formal investigation.
In the House's 237-year history, only six lawmakers have been expelled. The most recent was former Rep. George Santos, the Long Island Republican removed in 2023. That precedent looms over the current debate, and it applies to more than just Swalwell.
The House is currently wrestling over whether to expel four members: Swalwell, Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of New Jersey, and Rep. Cory Mills of Florida. Gonzales, also 45, has been accused of making sexual advances on a subordinate and pestering another staffer for sex several years earlier while married. Cherfilus-McCormick and Mills have long faced scrutiny from the House Ethics Committee for various issues.
Pelosi's silence on Swalwell is notable given her long history of wielding political influence within the California delegation and the broader Democratic caucus. She has been active in backing candidates in competitive primaries and shaping the party's direction, yet on this question she has offered nothing.
Democrats built a significant portion of their political brand in recent years around the idea that accusations of sexual misconduct against public officials must be believed, investigated, and acted upon swiftly. The party pressured former Sen. Al Franken out of office. It made "believe women" a rallying cry.
Now, with one of their own facing accusations from at least four women, with a criminal investigation underway in Manhattan and a formal ethics probe launched, the party's leaders have limited their response to telling Swalwell to stop running for governor. That is the political equivalent of asking someone to return a library book while the building is on fire.
The contrast with the Santos expulsion is instructive. Republicans voted to remove Santos from their own ranks in 2023. Democrats cheered that decision. Now the question is whether Democrats will apply the same standard to Swalwell, or whether "real hesitation" will harden into permanent inaction.
Meanwhile, Pelosi's broader political activity continues apace. She has been endorsing candidates for Congress and making headlines on other fronts, yet she cannot find the words to address whether a colleague accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct should keep his seat.
The ethics investigation announced Monday will proceed on its own timeline. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office investigation adds a criminal dimension that the House process does not carry. Swalwell has signaled he intends to fight the allegations, which means he is unlikely to resign voluntarily.
That puts the decision squarely on Democratic leadership. If Swalwell will not leave on his own, the party must decide whether to push for expulsion, a step that requires a two-thirds vote of the full House. The Democratic aide's prediction of resolution "within a week or so" may prove optimistic if leadership continues to dodge.
The open questions are significant. What specific conduct is the Manhattan DA investigating? What did Democratic leaders know, and when? Will the ethics committee's probe produce findings before political pressure forces a resolution? And will any senior Democrat actually say the word "expulsion" on the record?
So far, the answer to that last question is no. Jeffries, Clark, Aguilar, and Pelosi have all declined to go there. Even as challenges emerge to long-held Democratic seats, the party's leaders seem more concerned with managing the political fallout than with acting on the principles they have loudly claimed to hold.
When Republicans expelled George Santos, Democrats said it proved the system works. Now that system is pointed at one of their own, and the leaders who cheered loudest have gone silent. Principles that only apply to the other party aren't principles. They're tactics.
