The swift resignations of Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) to avoid expulsion votes regarding sexual misconduct allegations may trigger a chain reaction on Capitol Hill to remove other lawmakers accused of wrongdoing.
Gonzales stated that he planned to file his retirement from office on Tuesday after admitting to an affair with a former staffer who later committed suicide.
'Congress has serious moral and ethical problems and these four are the face of it.'
On Sunday, Swalwell decided he would suspend his bid for California governor after a former staffer claimed he had previously sexually assaulted her. Swalwell has denied the allegations.
The House Ethics Committee announced Monday that it would open an investigation into the allegations against Swalwell. That same day, Swalwell stated he would resign from Congress, citing his colleagues' intent to expel him.
"I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members," Swalwell said. "Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong. But it's also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress."
The recent resignations of Swalwell and Gonzales have renewed bipartisan calls for other scandal-plagued lawmakers to step down. Among those urging immediate action are Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), who have publicly called on Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) and Cory Mills (R-Fla.) to resign.
RELATED: 'You're a piece of s**t': Nancy Mace and Cory Mills clash in heated exchange after failed censure
The House Ethics Committee effectively found Cherfilus-McCormick guilty in March of 25 counts of financial misconduct and campaign-finance violations related to the misuse of federal relief funds. She was accused of stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds.
The committee opened an investigation into Mills in November regarding several allegations, including claims that the congressman failed to disclose necessary information to the House, violated campaign finance laws, improperly accepted gifts and special favors, engaged in sexual misconduct, and misused congressional resources.
Blaze News was the first to report the bombshell sextortion accusations against Mills from former Miss United States Lindsey Langston.
Mills has also been accused of stolen valor, with multiple veterans and former colleagues previously telling Blaze News that he fabricated or exaggerated key elements of his military record.
On Monday, Mace declared that it is "time to clean house."
"We don't care what party you're in. Stealing millions in taxpayer dollars, sexually assaulting your staff, lying about your service record, none of it is acceptable and none of it goes unnoticed," Mace stated. "Congress has serious moral and ethical problems and these four are the face of it. Washington has protected its own for too long. It needs to end now. We're calling on these four to resign or face expulsion."
Velázquez made similar comments on Monday, writing in a post on X, "Congress should not tolerate representatives who abuse staff, betray public trust for personal gain, and generally violate their oath of office."
"Reps. Swalwell, Gonzales, Cherfilus-McCormick, and Mills should resign. If they refuse, they should be expelled," Velázquez stated.
RELATED: 'Mutually assured destruction': Another disgraced lawmaker to resign from Congress over sex scandal
Mace, who has been leading the charge to remove Mills, forced a censure vote against Mills in November over "alleged stolen valor, arms deals he's under investigation for and alleged abuses toward women." It failed in a 310-103 vote, with 204 Republicans and 106 Democrats supporting Mills.
Mace claimed that a censure against Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands), who was accused of colluding with Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing, had previously failed because Mills arranged a "backroom deal" to suppress his own censure.
Mills was accused of similar allegations in September when he voted to protect Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from censure. Mills was the deciding vote.
"Another backroom deal so Cory Mills can't get censored [sic] for Stolen Valor," Mace stated in a November post on X. "I have the General who 'recommended' him for the Bronze Star on record saying he never wrote it, never read it and never personally signed it. This. Is. Washington."
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) stated Tuesday that he is “looking into” the House Ethics investigation into Mills.
Mills' office did not respond to a request for comment.
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A Republican is following in California Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell's footsteps by resigning from Congress after sex scandals imploded their respective political ambitions.
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) announced his imminent resignation Monday, shortly following Swalwell's statement after several lawmakers led a bipartisan effort to expel the two lawmakers from the House of Representatives. Rather than wait to be expelled, Gonzales vowed to resign from Congress, weeks after admitting to an affair with a former staffer who took her own life by self-immolating.
'Everybody knows where one another's bodies are buried.'
"There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all," Gonzales said in an X post on Monday. "When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas."
Swalwell's resignation came just days after new bombshell reports revealed that several ex-staffers have accused the Democrat of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior, prompting him to drop out of the California governor's race and out of political life altogether.
RELATED: Democrats dump Eric Swalwell after sexual assault allegations implode his career
"I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I've made in my past," Swalwell said in a statement. "I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make. I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members."
"Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong," Swalwell added. "But it's also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress."
Both scandals were considered open secrets, and the timing of Gonzales' and Swalwell's statements suggests their resignations may have been part of a backroom deal. The next pair of scandal-ridden lawmakers rumored to be on the chopping block are both from Florida: Republican Rep. Cory Mills, who has a flurry of allegations against him ranging from stolen valor to blackmail, and Democrat Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who was federally indicted for allegedly stealing millions in FEMA funds tied to COVID.
"It's mutually assured destruction," Len Foxwell, a Maryland-based Democrat strategist, told Blaze News. "Eric Swalwell is just the latest guy who got caught. Tony Gonzales was the latest guy who got caught across the aisle."
Although lawmakers were quick to throw Swalwell under the bus, Democrat strategist and pollster Dheeraj Chand suggested that the only reason they did so was because their open secret became a PR problem.
"I think it shows a seriousness on this side that we decided Swalwell could not continue," Chand told Blaze News. "It shows we do take it seriously when it becomes unavoidable. They do try to protect people sometimes, but very rarely."
"For every person who gets caught, there are, in all likelihood, a few dozen more who are engaged in inappropriate behavior with their subordinates," Foxwell told Blaze News. "Everybody knows where one another's bodies are buried."
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Florida Rep. Cory Mills (R) evaded another censure effort Wednesday night, but not without some heated criticism from a Republican colleague.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina forced a censure vote on Mills Wednesday over "alleged stolen valor, arms deals he's under investigation for and alleged abuses toward women." Mace also went after Mills after a handful of Republicans blocked the censure of Democrat Delegate Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands, who colluded with Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing.
'The more we learn about this guy and his purported activities, the worse it is.'
Mace alleged that Plaskett's censure failed because Mills cut a "backroom deal" to suppress his own censure. Similar allegations were made toward Mills back in September when he was the deciding vote to protect Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar's censure for the insensitive comments she made following Charlie Kirk's assassination.
"Another backroom deal so Cory Mills can’t get censored [sic] for Stolen Valor," Mace said in a post on X. "I have the General who 'recommended' him for the Bronze Star on record saying he never wrote it, never read it and never personally signed it. This. Is. Washington."
The two Republicans reportedly had a heated exchange on the House floor Wednesday night, with Mace calling Mills a "disgrace" and mouthing the words, "You're a piece of s**t."
Mace later addressed these outbursts in a post on X, saying the real scandal is Mills' track record.
"While Rep. Cory Mills is worried about my 'mean' words on the Floor last night — I'm worried about our national security and what sort of arms deals he or his companies have with foreign countries. I'm worried about how court records show he abuses women and had to have a restraining order set against him for it. I'm worried about how stealing the stories of other soldiers constitutes STOLEN VALOR and spits in the faces of veterans who gave it all Hold your tongue and sit this one out Mr. Mills."
The censure vote ultimately failed 310-103, with 204 Republicans and 106 Democrats defending Mills.
Only eight Republicans — Reps. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Kat Cammack of Florida, Joe Wilson of South Carolina, and Mace — voted to advance the censure measure.
Although the censure failed, Mace still called the effort a win.
"Last night was a win with either outcome of the vote," Mace said in a post on X. "Now the Left can't do any more backroom deals with Mills or use Mills as a bargaining chip whenever a Republican moves to censure another. And his investigation has been formally referred to an Ethics Subcommittee."
"However, I pray leadership will remove Mills from his committees until Ethics is done with Mills. The more we learn about this guy and his purported activities, the worse it is."
Blaze News reached out to Mills' office for comment.
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