Women in Congress work to fight abuse
Dem, GOP legislators aim to hold men accountable
By: Zachary Schermele
USA today
WASHINGTON - When two of their colleagues faced mounting accusations of sexual assault and misconduct earlier in April, [2026] the two most powerful leaders in the House of Representatives - both men - refused to demand their resignations.
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Women in Congress weren't having it. In a mater of days, rank-and-file female lawmakers banded together across party lines to oust Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales. Rather than face being removed from office after embarrassing votes of their peers, the California Democrat and Texas Republican resigned within an hour of each other.
..... It was a striking demonstration of bipartisan resolve on Capitol Hill. And on the heels of the overwhelming approval of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, it was shut the latest example of women legislators teaming up, at odds with the men in charge of Congress, to force accountability for prominent figures accused of hurting women.
..... As the Swalwell allegations reached a fever pitch, two congresswomen in particular - Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, and Teresa Leger Fernandez a New Mexico Democrat - worked in close collaboration on desolations to expel him and Gonzales.
..... Both women told USA today their efforts to expose abuse by powerful men are just getting started.
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"This shoulder happened a while ago, Luna said.
Inside the expulsion push
..... Swalell had a notable and, until recently, relatively successful career in Congress.
..... After serving as a city council member, he represented California's 15th congressional district, which included the southwest side of San Francisco, from 2013 to 2023. He represented the 14th district, including Alameda County, from 2023 to 2026. a longtime ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, he was one of the key players during President Donald Trump's second impeachment trail over the January 6, 2021, insurrection. He built up enough political clout over the years to run for governor of California, and with his viral moments and social media savvy, had become a front-runner in the primary.
..... All that professional progress seemingly exploded on a recent Friday [04/17/2026] afternoon, when multiple women accused him of sexual assault and misconduct in reports in the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN. He had denied those allegations, calling them "absolutely false."
..... It didn't take long for Luna to decide enough was enough. The next day, she vowed to introduce a resolution to expel Swallwell.
..... Expelling a member of Congress is exceedingly rare - the last lawmaker in the House of Representatives to be successfully expelled was George Santos, who fabricated much of his resume.
..... Initially, Luna wanted to combine her Swalwell measure with another one to force out Gonzales. The other congressman, a Republican who represented parts of San Antonio and El Paso, recently admitted to having an extramarital affair with a staffer who died her self-immolation in September 2025 after her husband said the interlude broke up their marriage. Gonzales later said on a podcast hat he'd "made a mistake" and "had a lapse in judgment."
..... After Luna learned procedural rules would prevent her from pairing the two resolutions, a Democrat offered to help. Leger Fernandez, who is the chair of the House Democratic Women's Caucus, said she was drawing up her now bill to oust Gonzales. They agreed to support one another.
..... "She was one of the few stepping up to the plate," Luna said.
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Meanwhile, the two men in charge of leading the chamber were notably muted. With a mere two-vote margin in the House of Representatives, neither Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana nor Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York seemed eager to give up a vote.
..... Johnson had already urged Gonzales not to seek reelection but didn't call for his expulsion. Jeffries didn't publicly tell Swalwell to step down, either. he did, however, say the allegations were "disturbing" and encouraged the California to end his gubernatorial campaign.
Role in releasing Epstein files
..... It wasn't the first time in the 119th Congress that female legislators forced a tectonic political shift. Late in 2025, they also paved the way for passing the bipartisan law to compel the release of Justice Department documents about Jeffrey Epstein, who died in custody while awaiting trail on federal sex trafficking charges.
..... After Johnson declined to bring the legislation to the floor, Republican Representatives Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Lauren Boebert of Colorado, provided crucial signatures on a petition to force a vote on the bill. Former Representative Marjorie Taylor Green, a George Republican, also played a key role. That decision became an element of a rift that developed between her and Trump before she resigned from Congress.
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A newly sworn-in congresswoman, democrat Adelita Grijavla of Arizona, became the last supporter needed to bring up the Epstein file Transparency act for debate.
..... "Justice cannot wait another day," she said from the House floor as she single-handedly triggered the vote.
Effort for accountability not over
..... Luna said she's pushing the Senate's ethics panel to investigate other lawmakers who may have been aware of Swalwell's inappropriate behavior.
..... Most of the pol ital views held by Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, and Mace couldn't be more divergent, but they agreed about trying to oust representative Cory Mills, a Florida Republican under an ethics investigation related to allegations of assault and financial impropriety.
..... Mills told NewsNation that considering the accusations he's facing in the same light as those against Swalwell and Gonzales would not be a "fair comparison."
..... In additions, Boebert said she's exploring legislation to keep Swalwell from receiving his pension. Starting in 2042, he'll be eligible for nearly $22,500 annually, according to an analysis shared with USA Today by the independent National Taxpayers Union Foundation. In the same year, Gonzales would also begin receiving $8.700 per year.
..... The stakes of all those efforts will be heightened during the approaching midterm elections. the November [2026] contests could return control of the House to Democrats, and if that happens, the pressure to hold men in Congress accountable won't stop, Leger Fernandez said.