Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Tuesday April 14, 2026, Reps. Tony Gonzales (TX-23) and Eric Swalwell (CA-15) resigned from Congress following reports of sexual abuse of their staff, in violation of the Congressional Code of Conduct. This came after Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) Chair Teresa Leger Fernández announced that she would introduce a privileged resolution to expel Rep. Gonzales who admitted to the sexual transgressions over a month ago and support a resolution to expel Rep. Swalwell.

DWC Chair Leger Fernández (NM-03) and Vice Chairs Hillary Scholten (MI-03) and Emilia Sykes (OH-13) released the following statement:

“We believe and stand with survivors. It is sickening that women staff, dedicated public servants, were met with abuse instead of respect by men who control their paycheck and career. This behavior was immoral and against our Code of Conduct. 

We know these women are not alone—millions of women in America have been sexually abused and harassed by men who think they will never face any consequences—including the president of the United States. That culture has to change here and now. This week we took one small step towards changing that culture. But we are not done. The same accountability that we are demanding for Epstein and his co-conspirators must apply to Congress.

The Democratic Women’s Caucus is grateful for the work of former DWC Co-Chair Jackie Speier who led the #MeTooCongress movement, passing legislation that streamlined complaint filing and prevented taxpayers from paying for harassment settlements. We will follow in her footsteps and in the footsteps of all women who are standing up against abuse. We support improvements to the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights and Committee on Ethics processes so important investigative work can be done with the urgency that these cases demand. We will stand with survivors, break the silence, and fight for a future free of sexual harassment and violence—including in the United States Congress.”

Background:

After months of reports, on March 4, 2026, Rep. Tony Gonzales admitted to an inappropriate sexual relationship with his staffer, who later died by suicide. Rep. Gonzales has also sent appalling, sexually explicit text messages to staff. Although Rep. Gonzales had admitted to the sexual transgression over 6 weeks ago, he had not faced any consequences in the House of Representatives which prohibits sexual relations with staff as they are inherently nonconsensual due to a power imbalance. ChairLeger Fernández’s Resolution to expel Rep. Gonzales was privileged, which meant it did not depend on Speaker Johnson’s approval to be heard on the floor of the House of Representatives. 

On Friday, horrifying and corroborated allegations also surfaced against Rep. Eric Swalwell, accusing him of sexual assault and harassment of staff and young women in politics. The work to uncover this abuse was led by courageous and relentless women in the creator and political space including Arielle Fodor, Cheyenne Hunt, Ally Sammarco, and Suzanne Lambert, among others. A privileged resolution to expel Rep. Swalwell was also introduced, which Chair Leger Fernández supported.

Reps. Swalwell and Gonzales resigned from Congress today.

Reps. Gonzales and Swalwell are just the latest of far too many instances of inappropriate sexual advances by a Member of Congress on staff. Their resignations come nearly a decade after  the #MeTooCongress movement. 

In 2017, Rep. Jackie Speier—who served as a DWC Co-Chair 2019-2023—led the #MeTooCongress movement to create a space for congressional staff to share their experiences of sexual abuse and harassment on Capitol Hill. Rep. Speier bravely told her story, when she was in her early 20s working on Capitol Hill, she was sexually assaulted by the chief of staff she worked with. This movement led to 9 members, four Democrats and five Republicans, resigning over sexual misconduct allegations in the 115th Congress (2017-2019). This list includes Senator Al Franken and Reps. Blake Farenthold, John Conyers, Tim Murphy, Trent Franks, Joe Barton, Elizabeth Esty, Ruben Kihuen, and Patrick Meehan. Specifically, Rep. Esty resigned after it was reported that she kept her Chief of Staff employed after she learned that he had harassed and threatened to kill a woman staffer in her office. Not all members who faced accusations resigned.

This issue went beyond party lines, as Congresswomen from both sides of the aisle shared their own stories and stories of staff being sexually harassed and assaulted on Capitol Hill.

Prior to the #MeTooCongress movement, the system to report sexual harassment or assault was confusing, secretive, and burdensome. At that time, staff would file a report with the Office of Compliance (now the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights) within 180 days of the incident. There would be long mediation and ‘cool off’ periods, usually resulting in the Member of Congress settling—using taxpayer dollars—and forcing a non-disclosure agreement. Many staff reported being out of the loop on the progress and updates of their own cases. This system was not conducive to accountability.

Rep. Speier then led historic legislation to reform this process. After refusing to be silenced, the ME TOO Congress Act was signed into law in December of 2018.

This law requires public reporting of settlements from Congressional offices, including the name of the Member, provides an advocate for survivors when they report, and shortens the waiting periods for those reporting. The bill also expanded these rights to unpaid staff such as interns and fellows. 

We recognize that while improvements have been made, there is more work to be done to ensure the process moves quickly, is safe for staff, allows defenses to be raised, and Members to be held accountable when the evidence or admission warrants action. The Democratic Women’s Caucus will continue to work on solutions to these issues and advocate for improved processes and support for sexual assault survivors in Congress and across America.  

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