The announcement came hours after the House Ethics Committee opened a formal investigation into whether Swalwell violated the Code of Official Conduct. It also came just one day after he suspended his campaign for California governor, a race he had entered as a top-tier Democratic contender.

In a matter of days, Swalwell went from gubernatorial hopeful to political exile. Senior staff quit. Endorsements evaporated. Labor groups pulled their backing. And leaders in his own party told him to go.

Swalwell's statement: sorry, but fighting back

In a written statement released Monday afternoon, Swalwell tried to walk a fine line, apologizing for unspecified "mistakes in judgment" while insisting the most serious accusation against him is false.

"I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I've made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make."

He did not specify which allegation he considers false, nor did he detail which mistakes he was admitting to. Four women have made accusations against him. One woman alleged Swalwell raped her twice, in 2019 and 2024, when she was too intoxicated to consent. Another accuser, Ally Sammarco, who previously worked for Swalwell, accused him of improper sexual conduct.

The complaint before the Ethics Committee describes "allegations that he may have engaged in sexual misconduct, including towards an employee working under his supervision." The committee said its decision to investigate and publicly disclose the review "does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred."

That standard caveat did nothing to slow the political reckoning.

Expulsion pressure forced the question

Swalwell acknowledged in his statement that he was aware of "efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members." He framed his resignation as a choice made on principle, not under duress.

"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."

That framing deserves scrutiny. Swalwell did not resign when the allegations first surfaced. He did not resign when he dropped his governor's race over the weekend. He resigned only after the Ethics Committee opened its probe and members of both parties began publicly backing expulsion. Whatever principle was at work, it arrived late.

Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna of Florida posted on X Monday afternoon that she was "being told there will be more disgusting stuff coming out on Swalwell in the next 24 hours." In a separate post, she pressed further, as Fox News reported:

"For the members of Congress who are concerned about optics on expelling Swalwell, I think after the information drops you will be thinking otherwise. Eric, why don't you tell us a little about who was filming the video of the female sex worker."

Luna's posts referenced a video in which at least two other individuals appeared to be present, though the full details and provenance of that video remain unclear from available reporting.

Democrats abandoned Swalwell in record time

The speed of the Democratic retreat was striking. The sexual assault allegations were first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN, AP News reported. Once the stories broke, the dominoes fell fast. Senior campaign staff resigned. His donations page was taken down. Allies including Adam Schiff and Ruben Gallego publicly cut ties.

Several House Democrats called on Swalwell to resign from Congress outright, and some said they would support expelling him. Teresa Leger Fernández, chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, called for both Swalwell and Texas Republican Tony Gonzales, who faces his own sexual misconduct allegations and abandoned his reelection bid last month, to resign or face expulsion votes.

California Democratic Party chair Rusty Hicks offered no comfort. As the New York Post reported, Hicks said Swalwell "finally did the right thing" by ending his gubernatorial campaign and called him "unqualified and unfit to seek or hold public office in California."

That is the chair of his own party talking. Not a Republican opponent. Not a cable news pundit. The head of the California Democratic Party.

The governor's race left in turmoil

Swalwell's exit has thrown the already crowded California gubernatorial primary into disarray. Because his name cannot be removed from the June 2 primary ballot, Democrats are now urging voters not to support him, a remarkable spectacle for a candidate who was, until days ago, a serious contender.

The Washington Examiner reported that Swalwell's implosion has increased Democratic anxiety about primary vote-splitting that could benefit Republicans. His departure leaves the party back at square one in a race where fragmentation was already a concern.

San José State professor emeritus Larry Gerston told reporters that Swalwell's withdrawal was no surprise. "The only question now is when he will literally drop out," Gerston said, a comment that landed before Swalwell's Monday resignation announcement.

Swalwell had appeared at a town hall meeting in Sacramento on April 7 and spoke at the California Democratic Convention in San Francisco on February 21. Those appearances now look like the final public acts of a political career that unraveled with startling speed.

A broader reckoning on Capitol Hill

Swalwell is not the only member of Congress facing pressure. The push for expulsion votes has touched members of both parties. Gonzales, the Texas Republican, already stepped away from his reelection campaign. Florida Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was found guilty last month by a House Ethics panel of numerous violations of House rules and ethics standards, including the alleged theft of $5 million in taxpayer funds. Florida Republican Cory Mills has also been named among members who could face removal.

The bipartisan nature of the ethics pressure is worth noting. Luna, a Republican, pushed hard for Swalwell's ouster. Leger Fernández, a Democrat, called for both Swalwell and Gonzales to go. Whatever one thinks of the process, the willingness to hold members of both parties accountable is a departure from the usual pattern of partisan protection.

Swalwell said he would work with his staff "in the coming days to ensure they are able, in my absence, to serve the needs of the good people of the 14th congressional district." He is married to his wife of nine years, Brittany Watts, and is a father of three young children.

What remains unanswered

Investigators in Manhattan are reviewing at least one alleged 2024 incident, AP News reported. The Ethics Committee investigation will presumably continue even after Swalwell's departure, though the scope and timeline remain unclear. The identities of two of the four accusers have not been publicly disclosed. And the video referenced by Luna, its contents, origin, and the identity of the person filming, has not been fully explained.

Swalwell insists he will "fight the serious, false allegations that have been made." Whether that fight takes place in a courtroom, before an ethics panel, or only in the court of public opinion is a question he has not answered.

What is clear is that the Democratic establishment moved to cut him loose with a speed rarely seen in Washington. No circling the wagons. No waiting for an investigation to conclude. No benefit of the doubt. When the allegations hit, the party ran.

That tells you something about what they already knew, or at least what they feared.