Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., announced she will file a privileged motion to expel Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., from Congress after multiple women accused the California Democrat of sexual misconduct and assault, allegations Swalwell has flatly denied but that have already triggered a political crisis within his own party.
Luna, appearing on “Saturday in America,” said she plans to bring the disciplinary motion to the House floor next week. Because the motion is privileged, Luna can force a floor vote, putting every member of Congress on the record.
The move follows a cascade of accusations. The San Francisco Chronicle first reported that a former Swalwell staffer accused the congressman of sexually assaulting her twice while she was allegedly too intoxicated to consent. CNN subsequently reported that three additional women have come forward with their own allegations of misconduct. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has said it is investigating the claims.
Swalwell posted a video on Friday pushing back against the accusations. He attributed the allegations to anonymous sources and insisted they are fabricated.
“A lot has been said about me today through anonymous allegations, and I thought it was important that you see and hear from me directly. These allegations of sexual assault are flat-out false.”
He went further in the same video, as Fox News Digital reported:
“They are absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened. And I will fight them with everything that I have.”
Swalwell also told the San Francisco Chronicle that the allegations “are false and come on the eve of an election against the frontrunner for governor,” framing them as politically motivated. He is currently a candidate for governor of California.
Fox News Digital reached out to Swalwell’s congressional office and gubernatorial campaign for comment on Luna’s expulsion push. No response was reported.
What makes the Swalwell situation especially damaging for Democrats is how quickly the party’s own leadership moved to distance itself. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi both called on Swalwell to drop out of the California governor’s race, Just the News reported. Jeffries called the accusations “incredibly disturbing.”
Swalwell’s two campaign co-chairs, Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Adam Gray, either resigned or withdrew their support and urged him to end his campaign. Gomez called on the congressman to “leave the race now so there can be full accountability without doubt, distraction or delay.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statement Saturday that stopped well short of defending Swalwell:
“As we continue to learn more, these allegations from multiple sources are deeply troubling and must be taken seriously.”
The pattern is familiar. When a scandal breaks inside their ranks, Democratic leaders often urge the political exit, drop the race, step aside from the campaign, while stopping short of demanding a resignation from office. Few prominent Democrats have publicly called on Swalwell to resign his House seat, even as they tell him to abandon his gubernatorial bid. That gap matters. It suggests the party’s concern is more about electoral liability than institutional accountability.
The broader pattern of Democratic Party turmoil and awkward optics has become a recurring theme in recent months, and the Swalwell situation only deepens the impression of a party struggling to manage its own internal crises.
Luna has made clear she sees the situation as a test of whether Congress will hold its own members to account. She called the allegations “unacceptable” and said the accusers “deserve a platform.”
On social media, Luna posted bluntly. “I am not going to act like it is fine. This is NOT okay,” she wrote on X, as the Washington Times reported. She also declared, “Congress needs a hard reset,” while announcing plans for multiple disciplinary motions, including a separate effort to expel Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick over House Ethics Committee findings related to campaign finance violations.
Luna framed the expulsion push as a matter of basic standards. She told Fox News she was tired of playing enforcer but saw no alternative.
“I hate having to be kind of the hall monitor of Congress, if you will, but it’s gotten really bad.”
She added:
“I’m not [going to] serve with these sexual deviants. That’s not what Congress is all about. And I think that we need to focus on the business of the American people, and it doesn’t include this stuff.”
Luna also issued a warning to Democrats who might rally around Swalwell when the vote comes. “[If Democrats want to protect] this type of garbage, I wouldn’t recommend it, but they’re [going to] be put on the board for that,” she said.
Expulsion from the House requires a two-thirds vote, a high bar that has rarely been cleared in American history. But the privileged motion forces a vote, and every member who sides with Swalwell will have that vote on the record. That political pressure is the real weapon here, regardless of the final tally.
Beyond the political fallout, law enforcement is now involved. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said it is investigating the allegations against Swalwell. A spokesperson urged anyone with knowledge of the accusations to come forward.
“We urge survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations to contact our Special Victims Division at 212-335-9373. Our specially trained prosecutors, investigators, and counselors are well-equipped to help you in a trauma-informed, survivor-centered manner.”
The New York Post reported that the allegations include an incident at a 2024 charity gala in New York, which would place at least one of the alleged assaults within the Manhattan DA’s jurisdiction. No charges have been filed as of the latest reporting.
The DA’s involvement adds a layer that goes well beyond House politics. If the investigation produces charges, Swalwell would face not just political consequences but criminal ones. If it doesn’t, his defenders will use that fact to argue the accusations were unfounded. Either way, the investigation will take time, and the political damage is already compounding.
In an era when political revelations and legal entanglements seem to arrive weekly, the Swalwell case stands out for the speed at which his own allies abandoned him.
The allegations against Swalwell have exposed a fault line that Democrats would rather not discuss. For years, the party positioned itself as the champion of the #MeToo movement and the party that “believes women.” Now, with four accusers on the record through major news outlets and a sitting Democratic congressman at the center of the storm, the test is whether those principles apply to their own.
So far, the answer is mixed. Jeffries and Pelosi want Swalwell out of the governor’s race. His co-chairs bailed. Newsom called the allegations “deeply troubling.” But the calls for resignation from Congress remain sparse. Newsmax noted that while some prominent Democrats want Swalwell out of the California race, few have demanded he give up his House seat.
That distinction is telling. Dropping out of a governor’s race costs the party nothing, Swalwell was one candidate among many. Resigning from Congress, on the other hand, opens a seat. It triggers a special election. It carries real consequences. And so the party that built a brand on accountability for powerful men accused of misconduct suddenly discovers the virtue of waiting for the process to play out.
The intra-party fractures go deeper than Swalwell. Democrats have struggled recently with members breaking ranks on a range of issues, and the Swalwell crisis only adds to the sense that the party’s leadership cannot manage its own caucus.
Several key questions remain unanswered. The Step 1 material does not specify when the alleged incidents occurred, beyond the reference to the 2024 charity gala. The names of the accusers have not been made public. No charges have been filed. And the formal House procedure Luna intends to invoke, beyond the privileged motion, has not been detailed.
Luna has called on the alleged victims to come to her office, signaling she intends to build a congressional case alongside whatever the Manhattan DA produces. Whether that effort gains traction depends on whether other Republicans, and any Democrats, join the push.
For now, Swalwell remains in Congress and remains a candidate for governor. He insists the allegations are false. His party insists he should at least stop running for higher office. And Luna insists the House should vote on whether he belongs in the chamber at all.
The accountability question is straightforward, even if the politics are not. When leaders in law enforcement promise to hold people accountable, voters expect Congress to hold itself to the same standard.
Four women have come forward. A district attorney is investigating. The congressman’s own party wants him off the ballot. If that’s not enough to force a vote on the House floor, it’s fair to ask what would be.
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