Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, could be expelled from Congress this week as members in both parties contemplate ousting colleagues accused of sexual misconduct.
Bipartisan calls to expel both Gonzales and Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-California, mounted over the weekend after a number of former Swalwell employees accused him of sexual misconduct, including one former aide who said Swalwell sexually assaulted her.
Swalwell has said the allegations of sexual assault are “flat false.”
The prospect of expulsion votes gained steam Saturday when Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Florida, said she would file an expulsion motion to boot Swalwell, adding that she would support a similar move against Gonzales. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-New Mexico, subsequently said she will introduce a resolution to expel Gonzales.
In February, the San Antonio Express-News reported that Gonzales had an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, along with text messages showing Gonzales pressed the aide for explicit photos after she pushed back on his overtures. Gonzales admitted to the affair in early March, and dropped his reelection bid shortly after.
Last week, a second former campaign employee came forward with text evidence that Gonzales had been sexually inappropriate with her as well.
Gonzales is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for sexual misconduct. Lawmakers are forbidden from engaging in sexual relationships with their employees under House rules.
But some members are eager for quicker action than an ethics referral. Though both Gonzales and Swalwell are no longer running for office, an increasing number of members have said they plan to vote to expel the two.
“Gonzales and Swalwell are not fit to serve in Congress given their sexual transgressions against women who work for them,” said Leger Fernández, who chairs the Democratic Women’s Caucus. “They should resign or be expelled.”
In a House where Republicans have a narrow 217-214 majority, expelling both Gonzales and Swalwell — one member from each party — would be an easier ask for lawmakers worried about the partisan composition of the lower chamber.
The expulsion frenzy could also sweep up lawmakers beyond Gonzales and Swalwell. Some members have also called for the expulsion of Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Florida, whom the Ethics Committee found guilty of campaign finance violations, and Cory Mills, R-Florida, who is under an Ethics investigation for sexual and financial misconduct.
In both Gonzales and Swalwell’s cases, their respective House party leaders have called for them to drop their electoral campaigns but stopped short of suggesting resignation from Congress.
Both Luna and Leger Fernández can circumvent leadership to put their expulsion resolutions on the floor, under rules that allow members to take “privileged actions” against one another. But expulsion requires a two-thirds majority of the House, meaning it must be bipartisan.
In the history of the House, only six members have been expelled — most recently, New York Republican George Santos, a serial fabulist, in 2023. But an initial expulsion resolution on the House floor against Santos failed, as many members argued against setting a precedent of expulsion before the Ethics Committee had finished its investigation and recommended how to proceed. And members have historically been content to let voters decide at the ballot box if a member’s conduct is disqualifying.
While the two-thirds majority for expulsion is a high bar to cross, numerous House members have pledged to vote yes.
Already, a number of representatives from both parties — including Republicans Lauren Boebert, Byron Donalds, Bryan Fitzpatrick, Mike Lawler, Luna, Nancy Mace and Addison McDowell, and Democrats Jared Huffman, Pramila Jayapal, Julie Johnson, Ro Khanna, Leger Fernandez, Emily Randall and Nydia Velazquez — have announced support for expelling both Gonzales and Swalwell.
If lawmakers do expel Gonzales, Texas’ 23rd Congressional District — which runs from San Antonio to El Paso County and covers much of West Texas along the border — would be vacant. It would be up to Gov. Greg Abbott to set the date for a special election to fill the seat at his discretion.
Democrats have overperformed their 2024 vote shares in special elections across the country this cycle, including a notable flip in a North Texas state Senate seat where the Democratic candidate outran Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 margin by over 30 percentage points.
President Donald Trump won Gonzales’ 23rd District in 2024 by 15 percentage points; Sen. Ted Cruz carried it by 8 points. It’s a majority-Hispanic seat that national Democrats are already eyeing for the November general election, which pits gun YouTuber Brandon Herrera against Democratic newcomer Katy Padilla Stout.
Herrera recently welcomed the prospect of dual expulsion votes.
“So if both Tony Gonzales and Eric Swalwell resign/are expelled, there’s no excuse by either party about it [a]ffecting the voting majority,” Herrera wrote on social media Friday. “Congress currently has the ability to expel two known sex pests in a fair, bipartisan, and morally necessary way.”
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.