WASHINGTON — Rep. Eric Swalwell said Monday that he would resign from Congress as he faced a mounting effort to expel him over allegations of sexual misconduct.
The abrupt announcement came just three days after the Chronicle reported that a former staffer for the Castro Valley Democrat said he sexually assaulted her twice when she was too intoxicated to consent, an accusation he has called false and pledged to fight, and less than a day after he dropped out of the race for California governor.
“Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong,” Swalwell said in a statement. “But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.”
Swalwell was first elected in 2012 and represented a suburban East Bay district. A former prosecutor in Alameda County who later served on the Dublin City Council, Swalwell rose to national prominence as one of the managers in the impeachment trial against President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. He became an outspoken critic of Trump on cable news and launched his campaign for governor last fall.