Shortly before California’s frontrunner for governor announced his resignation from Congress, his best friend publicly demanded it.
At 2 pm sharp on Monday, Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego called on his friend of over a decade, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, to be expelled from Congress in an X post. Less than a week ago Gallego had been defending Swalwell against social media allegations of sexual assault.
All that changed last Friday when the press added their weight to the allegations by going to print with further details. The report defied the Friday news dump. Rumors touching on the dark side of Congress in general began to leak over the weekend.
“I trusted someone who I believed was a friend, but it is now clear that he is not the person I thought I knew,” said Gallego.
I am going to say this very slowly, it’s coming out that Eric Swalwell would discuss his conquests to fellow House members and former house members that he considered “good friends, best friends”, now here is why me saying this slowly matters, think long and hard before you deny…
— Michael Trujillo (@mikehtrujillo) April 12, 2026
It appears the loss of his best friend was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Swalwell — the camel referenced not being one of the dromedaries that the pair rode together shirtless while on a paid-for trip to Qatar in 2021.
25 minutes after Gallego’s public challenge of expulsion, Swalwell announced his resignation from Congress. Not 24 hours earlier he had suspended his gubernatorial campaign, the seat widely thought to be his for easy taking until last week.
“Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation made, is wrong,” said Swalwell. “But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.”
Some speculate the timing of the resignation was to avoid the discoveries that would take place under the House Ethics Committee investigation announced ahead of Gallego’s and Swalwell’s posts on Monday.
Eric Swalwell is resigning in order to avoid a House Ethics Committee investigation + document production.
Swalwell needs to release all of his communications with @RubenGallego + travel itineraries during which he had contact with Gallego.https://t.co/msGcao47zb
— Brian Anderson (@AZBrianAnderson) April 13, 2026
Over the weekend, some took to social media and the press to name more names.
Former representative George Santos alleged Gallego and others were rumored as the elected officials who frequented “the cages” for sexual forays — storage rooms within the House basement office buildings.
When I was in Congress I used to talk to Staff and reporters on the Hill a lot.
During that time I learned about the activities taking place in the “cages” which are the storage rooms in the basement of the House office buildings.
I reported it to House Admin Chair at the time…
— George Santos (@Georgesantos) April 13, 2026
More evidence also emerged confirming Swalwell’s partyboy lifestyle. One video showed Swalwell engaging in sexual acts with a woman on a bed.
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Next to Swalwell on the bed was an unidentified man wearing custom black Nike Air Force 1 shoes. Social media users questioned whether the profile of the man belonged to Gallego. No pictures available online in recent years indicate that Gallego owned that custom type of shoe, or anything similar to it.
One shop that specializes in a strikingly similar design of Air Force 1s is located in Washington, D.C., called “Rose Customs” on eBay.
Swalwell’s affiliation with the unknown man from the video may be tied to his membership with the Congressional Sneaker Caucus: a niche group of sneaker enthusiasts advocating for more comfortable footwear up the hill.
Another video that resurfaced showed Swalwell aboard a party-fueled yacht trip in 2022, posted by Nik Lamas-Richie (Hooman Abedi Karamian), the Scottsdale-based Internet personality who founded the once-popular, now-defunct gossip website “The Dirty.”
“Leave future California Governor Eric Swalwell alone,” stated Lamas-Richie. “He is a good guy (sarcasm).”
Sen. Gallego has denied any knowledge of Swalwell’s sexual deviancy or extramarital trysts.
Instead, Gallego told CNN that Swalwell “led a double life” and had “tricked” him.
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