Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Dublin, dropped a lawsuit against Trump ally Bill Pulte on Friday but seemed poised to win a case against him in Sacramento.
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Rep. Eric Swalwell voluntarily dismissed a lawsuit Friday targeted at one of President Donald Trump’s top housing officials, Bill Pulte, who’d reportedly ordered an investigation into Swalwell’s mortgage.
Also on Friday, a Sacramento judge suggested she would likely reject an effort by a conservative filmmaker to keep Swalwell, D-Dublin, off of the ballot as a candidate for governor.
Both lawsuits relate to claims over Swalwell’s residence, a topic that has become a focus both for the Trump administration and Tom Steyer, a Democratic rival in the governor’s race.
Swalwell sued Pulte in November, after NBC News reported Pulte sought an investigation into the Democrat for alleged mortgage fraud. NBC reported the claims against Swalwell centered on claims he misrepresented a Washington, D.C., home as his primary residence. Pulte leveled similar claims against several other perceived political enemies of Trump, none of which have held up in court.
Swalwell’s complaint called the accusations “patently false,” saying that he was a permanent resident of California. He claimed Pulte had deliberately leaked the claims to reporters and social media influencers, leading to “reputational harm, legal expenses, and mental and emotional distress.”
In a statement, Swalwell’s campaign spokesperson Micah Beasley argued the Democrats’ lawsuit successfully dissuaded Pulte and the Trump administration from following through on their threats.
“We called his bluff. He never brought it,” Beasley said in an email. “Case closed.”
Separately, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne W.L. Chang signaled she’s skeptical that the Democrat should be dropped from the ballot in the California governor’s race over claims he doesn’t live in the state.
Conservative filmmaker Joel Gilbert filed a lawsuit in January claiming that there was no evidence Swalwell actually lived in the state and that therefore he was ineligible to run for the office under the state Constitution. The Constitution requires governors to have lived in the state for at least five years, though the secretary of state has argued for years that provision is unenforceable and violates the U.S. Constitution.
Swalwell and his wife are registered to vote in California, listing their residence as a Livermore home owned by his former chief of staff Tim Sbranti’s sister-in-law. Sbranti told The Sacramento Bee earlier this month that the Democrat rents a room in the home and stays there when in his East Bay district. The homeowners and their child also live in the three-bedroom house.
The questions over Swalwell’s residency have been amplified by Steyer, a billionaire who—along with Swalwell and former Rep. Katie Porter—ranks in the top tier of Democrats in recent gubernatorial polling.
In a tentative ruling Friday, Chang said Gilbert had failed to prove Swalwell’s domicile was outside of California, noting that California law “conclusively presumes” that elected congressional representatives live at the address listed in their voter registration affidavit.
“Billionaire Tom Steyer’s attempt to cozy up with MAGA conspiracy theorists and steal the election has been stopped by the courts,” Swalwell said in a statement. “My California residency was never in doubt. And now the courts have agreed.”
The ruling is still tentative, pending a hearing Monday when Gilbert will try to change Chang’s mind. In an interview, Gilbert said he’ll appeal if Chang doesn’t decide in his favor.
“I think it’s a total ruse that Swalwell has any permanent residence in California,” he said.
This story was originally published March 20, 2026 at 4:26 PM.
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Ben Paviour is the California political power reporter for The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau. He previously covered Virginia state politics for public radio and was a local investigations fellow at The New York Times. He got his start in journalism at the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. Before becoming a reporter, he worked in local government and tech in the Bay Area.