Political tension is growing around Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, who has denied allegations of sexual misconduct, and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, who admitted to having a relationship with a now-former staffer.
Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is setting her sights on Swalwell, posting on X: “I am filing a motion to expel Eric Swalwell from Congress,”
According to Axios, Democrats are expected to respond with a move to expel South Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales.
“It would be rather stunning it would be rather stunning to see the House expel either Swalwell or Gonzales at this point,” said Jon Taylor, Chair of Political Science at UTSA.
Taylor says lawmakers would likely prefer to let both men finish their terms, which end January 3, 2027, rather than hold special elections for positions that would only last a few months.
“I jokingly refer to it as a ‘congress member for Christmas,’ where they end up being a congress member for a few months, and then the person that wins the actual general election becomes the member,” said Jon Taylor.
“This is the thing where you’d have to have a lot of money to be able to jump into a special election,” said Jon Taylor.
We also asked what someone could realistically accomplish if they stepped into either role for such a short time.
“You’d have the worst committee assignments, you’d have the worst office space, and you’d have to scramble to get staff together in that short period of time,” said Jon Taylor.
Gonzales has not responded to calls for expulsion but has already said he will not seek another term. He is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
Swalwell also did not directly address expulsion efforts but reaffirmed that the allegations against him are false, saying he will continue to fight them.
Both representatives would need a two-thirds majority vote in the House to be expelled.
Only six members in U.S. history have ever been expelled from the House.