Two congressmen resign from Congress
WASHINGTON (NBC, KYMA) - Former Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) have resigned from Congress amid sexual misconduct allegations respectively, pre-empting a push by their House colleagues to expel them from office.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) has set an August special election to fill former Rep. Swalwell's seat.
In a new push for accountability, Swalwell, one of two House members who resigned Tuesday, is now facing another criminal investigation, with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department looking into serious new allegations from Lonna Drewes, who says Swallwell drugged her drink, raped and choked her in a California hotel room in 2018.
"I lost consciousness, and I thought I died," Drewes shared.
Drewes says she met Swalwell socially, was interested in a business relationship, and while she didn't report the alleged assault at the time, she did confide in multiple people and make handwritten notes.
She said her delay in coming forward "was driven by fear, not doubt."
Swallwell, a married father of three, apologized for past "mistakes in judgment," while forcefully denying all allegations of sexual assault or misconduct multiple women have made against him, including Ally Sammarco, a former staffer, who spoke exclusively to CBS News.
"It started out as professional and platonic and then slowly they became more and more explicit," Sammarco spoke.
Swalwell's attorney called all of the accusations "false, fabricated and deeply offensive," alleging they're a "political hit job."
Swalwell, a prominent Democrat, dropped his run for California governor, and chose to resign from Congress as fellow members threatened to expel him.
Former Rep. Gonzales also made the same decision on the same day.
The married father of six previously admitted to an affair with a staffer, who later died by suicide.
"I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment," Gonzales expressed.
The two resignations won't shift the balance of power in Congress, but advocates are hoping for change.
Swalwell is already facing a separate criminal investigation over an alleged assault in a Manhattan hotel room in 2024 while on Capitol Hill, there's pressure for more resignations from two Florida lawmakers facing House Ethics investigations.
