Reps. Swalwell & Gonzales Resign over Alleged Sexual Misconduct; Will Congress Take More Action?

Democratic Congressmember Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Tony Gonzales of Texas resigned Tuesday. Both of them faced potential expulsion votes after they were accused of sexual misconduct involving former staffers.

Swalwell’s resignation came just days after CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle reported multiple allegations against him, including twice raping a former staffer. Swalwell denied the allegations. He dropped out of the California gubernatorial race on Sunday. Gonzales had been facing calls to resign since February, when the San Antonio Express-News revealed he had an affair with a staffer who later took her own life, and also sent explicit text messages to another staffer.

“Congress itself shouldn’t see these resignations as the end of the story here,” says Fatima Goss Graves of the National Women’s Law Center. “They actually should see it as the beginning of investigating not only what happened with these two individuals, but they need to understand whether or not they have a problem that is more of a pattern.”