Eric Swalwell to resign from Congress : NPR

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Pictures Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., is resigning from his seat in Congress as he faces rising backlash to allegations of sexual assault and misconduct.

In an announcement posted to social media Monday, Swalwell acknowledged rising calls amongst lawmakers to expel him from the Home of Representatives.

"Expelling anybody in Congress with out due course of, inside days of an allegation being made, is mistaken. But it surely's additionally mistaken for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Due to this fact, I plan to resign my seat in Congress," Swalwell stated.

Swalwell's determination comes simply sooner or later after he introduced he was suspending his marketing campaign for governor of California. It marks a fall from political grace for the seven-term Democrat, who had extensively been seen as a frontrunner within the gubernatorial race.

Swalwell, 45, has been embattled in controversy since Friday, after at the very least 4 ladies spoke with the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN, detailing their experiences, which vary from undesirable sexual advances by Swalwell to allegations of rape.

NPR has not independently verified the allegations in opposition to Swalwell, however he has adamantly denied them and vowed to battle again.

"To my household, workers, buddies, and supporters, I'm deeply sorry for errors in judgment I've made in my previous," he stated in a put up saying he would droop his bid for governor. "I'll battle the intense, false allegations which have been made — however that is my battle, not a marketing campaign's."

Democratic leaders moved to shortly condemned Swalwell after the allegations started to floor, with prime marketing campaign supporters renouncing their assist — together with Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and former Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Greater than 50 former Swalwell staffers referred to as for him to resign, as prime Democrats within the Home issued an announcement calling for a "swift investigation."

On Monday, the Home Ethics Committee introduced it was launching an investigation into whether or not Swalwell "could have engaged in sexual misconduct, together with in the direction of an worker working underneath his supervision."

Swalwell's resignation successfully ends that investigation.

The scandal has fueled an ongoing debate inside the halls of Congress over how you can deal with allegations of wrongdoing by lawmakers. Even earlier than the Swalwell allegations got here to mild, a handful of Republican and Democratic Home members have been demanding that Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, step down over allegations of a previous affair with a workers member who later died by suicide.

Gonzales admitted to the affair in March and later dropped his bid for reelection — although he didn't resign his seat.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla. has led a push to expel each members. She has additionally sought the ouster of Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who was indicted final 12 months on fees of stealing $5 million in federal catastrophe funds. The Florida Democrat has denied the allegations.

"I do not care what the get together affiliation is, if they're corrupt and fascinating in criminal activity in Congress I will vote to expel them." Luna wrote. "It's time Congress has an excellent home cleansing."