{"id":586232,"date":"2026-04-15T18:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T18:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/586232\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T18:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T18:52:09","slug":"sexual-abuse-allegations-are-spurring-calls-for-reckoning-in-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/586232\/","title":{"rendered":"Sexual abuse allegations are spurring calls for reckoning in Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Resignations<\/a> came quickly this week from two congressmen accused of sexual misconduct toward staff members. Yet for many of the women of Capitol Hill, the moment of accountability was years in the making \u2014 and far from enough. <\/p>\n

Reps. Eric Swalwell<\/a>, a California Democrat, and Tony Gonzales<\/a>, a Texas Republican, both announced within hours of each other Monday that they were leaving Congress. Their decisions came the day before the House returned to Washington and as both faced the prospect of being expelled from the chamber by their colleagues. <\/p>\n

It was a reckoning of sorts for Capitol Hill, the most striking since the careers of roughly a dozen male politicians were toppled during the heights of the #MeToo movement<\/a>. Yet some congresswomen said that the pair of resignations took too long and proved what they\u2019ve long been saying: that more must be done to rid Capitol Hill of sexual predation.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday was an important turning point,\u201d said Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. \u201cThat it should \u2014 that abuse of power \u2014 should never be accepted, and above all, in public office. And so, I think this is an important resetting point for the institution.\u201d<\/p>\n

A bipartisan group of congresswomen had threatened on Tuesday to file resolutions that could have forced votes on expelling Swalwell and Gonzales. Their moves forced the two men to act and came swiftly after the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN had reported Friday<\/a> that a woman said Swalwell sexually assaulted her.<\/p>\n

The initial allegations against Swalwell date back to 2019 and 2024; they were followed with other allegations of inappropriate behavior<\/a> made by other women. Swalwell has denied engaging in any sexual misconduct but acknowledged mistakes in judgment. Gonzales for months had resisted calls for his resignation after he admitted to a 2024 affair with a staff member who later died by suicide.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccountability can happen. We can hold men accountable when they abuse women, and we\u2019re going to do more of it,\u201d said Rep. Teresa Leger Fern\u00e1ndez, who chairs the Democratic Women\u2019s Caucus.<\/p>\n

House rules forbid relationships with staff<\/p>\n

It is against the House Code of Conduct for any member to have a sexual relationship with their staff members.<\/p>\n

Following the #MeToo movement, the House changed its rules to require annual trainings on sexual harassment and discrimination for members. The House also approved legislation to speed the slow-moving process for harassment complaints, require more disclosure of settlements and force lawmakers to personally pay any penalties they\u2019re required to make.<\/p>\n

Former Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat who led the movement for reforms around sexual assault, told The Associated Press that problems still persist after those reforms.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat we do in Congress is basically look the other way,\u201d she said, adding that she was calling on House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries to \u201creally tighten the rules and create a safe environment for these women to report.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Johnson said he did not talk with the lawmakers before they announced their resignations, he told reporters that the episode had played out \u201cappropriately.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the right thing for the institution,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

How the push for accountability has grown <\/p>\n

Sexual abuse has been top of mind for lawmakers as they investigate the actions of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. A handful of Republican women, mostly hailing from the right wing of their party, played crucial roles in forcing Congress to take up the issue.<\/p>\n

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, alongside Rep. Lauren Boebert and then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, rebuffed pressure from President Donald Trump and Johnson last year as they joined with Democrats and forced a vote<\/a> on a bill mandating the release of many of the case files on Epstein.<\/p>\n

Mace, who in 2019 shared her own account of surviving rape, has continued an outspoken campaign advocating for victims of sexual assault. She and Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna had repeatedly called for Swalwell and Gonzales to resign. <\/p>\n

Mace has also extended that demand to Republican Rep. Cory Mills<\/a>, who is facing an ethics investigation on allegations of sexual misconduct and violence against an ex-girlfriend. Mills has said he will disprove the allegations.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Mace and Luna are also calling for the resignation of Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick<\/a>, a Florida Democrat. The House Ethics Committee found evidence that she broke campaign finance law related to a mistaken overpayment of $5 million from the state of Florida to her family\u2019s health care business. She has said she did nothing wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cClean house. Expel them. Hold every last one accountable,\u201d Mace said on social media. \u201cThe American people are watching.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, Mace herself is under investigation by the ethics panel for allegations she improperly claimed housing reimbursements. She has denied wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

Swalwell allies are facing close scrutiny<\/p>\n

As accusations of sexual abuse continued to land against Swalwell, some Democrats found themselves in a moment of reflection and contrition, especially those who kept close company with him.<\/p>\n

Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, a close friend of Swalwell\u2019s who chaired his presidential campaign, called reporters to his office on Tuesday for an emotional press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI messed up. I\u2019m human. I trusted this man,\u201d a teary-eyed Gallego said.<\/p>\n

Under intense questioning from reporters, Gallego acknowledged that he had heard rumors about Swalwell being \u201cflirty,\u201d but contended that he trusted him as a close family friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely look at the world in a different way now,\u201d Gallego said. \u201cI personally am going to make sure that I\u2019m going to take personal steps and office steps to make sure that we don\u2019t even get close to a gray line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Policing behavior in Congress presents challenges<\/p>\n

Speier, who entered politics by first working as a congressional aide and experienced harassment from a supervisor, said that part of the problem in Congress is that members are given wide latitude to run their offices. All 535 lawmakers are bosses of their own hand-selected staff. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s really no one overseeing you,\u201d Speier said. \u201cThere\u2019s a sense of entitlement that kind of overtakes many of these members.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speier, alongside then-Rep. Bradley Byrne, led the effort to pass legislation to make it easier to report sexual harassment and discrimination, including banning nondisclosure agreements to protect members of Congress. <\/p>\n

Since the 2018 reforms began requiring the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights<\/a> to report awards and settlements related to formal complaints, there have been eight payments made by House members\u2019 offices, totaling just over $400,000. Those payments cover all types of violations of workplace rights, not just sexual harassment, and the violations could have been committed by other congressional staff in the office.<\/p>\n

Speier said that it was crucial to keep making it easier for survivors to report sexual abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless someone comes forward, you know the conduct continues,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press Chief Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Resignations came quickly this week from two congressmen accused of sexual misconduct toward staff members.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586233,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,167802,1927,256455,1340,47157,21964,3505,12,112898,793,12481,256454,14825,151721,2077,13409,13410,104647,3,111,28860,29368,49610,239107,225381,8638,21,26939,9291,19,22,20,25,24,800],"class_list":{"0":"post-586232","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-anna-paulina-luna","10":"tag-ap-top-news","11":"tag-bradley-byrne","12":"tag-congress","13":"tag-cory-mills","14":"tag-discrimination","15":"tag-district-of-columbia","16":"tag-donald-trump","17":"tag-eric-swalwell","18":"tag-general-news","19":"tag-hakeem-jeffries","20":"tag-jackie-speier","21":"tag-jeffrey-epstein","22":"tag-lauren-boebert","23":"tag-legislation","24":"tag-marjorie-taylor-greene","25":"tag-mike-johnson","26":"tag-nancy-mace","27":"tag-news","28":"tag-politics","29":"tag-ruben-gallego","30":"tag-sexual-abuse","31":"tag-sheila-cherfilus-mccormick","32":"tag-teresa-leger-fernndez","33":"tag-tony-gonzales","34":"tag-u-s-democratic-party","35":"tag-united-states","36":"tag-united-states-congress","37":"tag-united-states-house-of-representatives","38":"tag-united-states-of-america","39":"tag-unitedstates","40":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","41":"tag-us","42":"tag-usa","43":"tag-washington-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}