The House of Representatives was on track for a week unlike any in its modern history, four simultaneous expulsion proceedings against sitting members, two from each party. Then two of the four quit first. Former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and former Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, resigned under pressure, narrowing the disciplinary calendar but leaving Capitol Hill with plenty of unfinished business involving Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., and Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla.
As recently as Monday, Fox News reported, the chamber appeared primed to wrestle with expelling all four. That would have been without precedent. The House has expelled only six members in its entire history, three during the Civil War era. The last was former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., ousted in late 2023. Before Santos, you have to go back to 2002 and Rep. Jim Traficant, D-Ohio.
Four in a single week would have rewritten the record books. Instead, the resignations of Swalwell and Gonzales cut the list in half, and raised a harder question: whether the House will follow through on the two members who remain.
Swalwell's exit came after calls to expel him piled up following reports that he sexually assaulted a former aide and several other women. He initially said he would fight the allegations, but the pressure proved too great. He dropped his bid to become governor of California and then resigned from Congress. Additional misconduct accusations surfaced even as he was making his way toward the door.
The Media Research Center tracked his media appearances in 2026 alone: 26 times on MSNBC and 24 times on CNN. For years, Swalwell was a fixture on left-leaning cable news, positioned as a voice of moral authority. That perch collapsed under the weight of the allegations against him.
Separately, federal investigators have been looking into Swalwell's conduct beyond the assault claims. DHS opened a federal investigation into allegations he illegally hired a Brazilian nanny, adding another layer to the former congressman's legal exposure.
The Manhattan District Attorney's office also entered the picture. A criminal probe was opened over a sexual assault allegation, marking one of the rare instances in which a sitting member of Congress faced that kind of prosecutorial scrutiny while still holding office.
Tony Gonzales faced a different set of facts but a similar trajectory. He denied an affair with an aide who committed suicide by setting herself on fire, a grim episode that drew intense scrutiny. Gonzales was already locked in a tough primary runoff against Republican challenger Brandon Herrera when the pressure mounted.
He dropped out of the runoff and announced he would not stand for re-election. He had intended to serve out his term until January 3 of next year. Instead, he resigned, joining Swalwell in leaving before the House could act.
The bipartisan nature of the misconduct gave lawmakers in both parties political cover to demand accountability. As the Washington Examiner reported, colleagues from across the aisle called for resignations or expulsions. Rep. Nydia Velazquez said bluntly:
"Congress should not tolerate representatives who abuse staff, betray public trust for personal gain, and generally violate their oath of office. Reps. Swalwell, Gonzales, Cherfilus-McCormick, and Mills should resign. If they refuse, they should be expelled."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal struck a similar note, saying she was "sick and tired of men in positions of power getting away with sexual harassment, assault and abuse" and that Gonzales and Swalwell should resign or face expulsion votes.
With the two resignations behind it, the House now turns to the cases that remain. Cherfilus-McCormick is the furthest along procedurally. In late March, the House Ethics Committee held a rare "trial", the kind of formal proceeding the panel almost never convenes, and declared that she improperly obtained $5 million in COVID relief funds.
The ethics panel found her guilty of more than 25 violations. Rep. Greg Stuebe, R-Fla., filed a resolution to remove her from the House months ago. The committee will likely recommend punishment next week, though the full House does not have to follow the panel's prescribed discipline.
Cherfilus-McCormick proclaims her innocence. She also faces a criminal trial in Florida, scheduled for February 2027. Speaker Mike Johnson left little doubt about where he stands. He told reporters:
"The facts are indisputable at this point, and so I believe it will be the consensus of this body that she should be expelled."
Expulsion requires a two-thirds vote, a high bar that reflects the gravity the Constitution places on removing a duly elected member. The week had already been shaping up as one of the most consequential for House discipline in generations. Whether two-thirds of the chamber will vote to remove Cherfilus-McCormick remains the central open question.
Cory Mills presents a messier picture. The Florida Republican faces accusations of "stolen valor" and exaggeration of his military record. An allegation surfaced in early 2025 that he struck his girlfriend, and a judge imposed a restraining order against him. Police, however, never charged him.
The Ethics Committee is also investigating whether Mills violated federal campaign rules. Speaker Johnson acknowledged the uncertainty, telling reporters he was "not sure the status of the Ethics Committee investigation" into Mills and that it was "one of the things I'll be looking into today."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., was careful not to draw a direct parallel between the Democratic and Republican cases. He said the "issue of parity hasn't been something that we've had a conversation about" and that Democrats were simply "working through what's in front of us today." On the Mills matter specifically, Jeffries noted that "the ethics process is still incomplete."
Newsmax reported that the possible removals, two Democrats and two Republicans, made action politically easier because it would not change the balance of power. One House Democrat told Axios that "people feel confident that the allegations against all four are credible." Another lawmaker called for a "full house cleaning."
With Swalwell and Gonzales out and newly sworn-in Rep. Clay Fuller, R-Ga., taking his seat Monday night after winning a special election to succeed former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the current breakdown stands at 431 members: 217 Republicans and 213 Democrats.
A Thursday special election in New Jersey, for the seat vacated when former Rep. Mikie Sherill resigned last fall to become governor, is expected to add another Democrat, Analilia Mejia. That would bring the count to 217 Republicans, 214 Democrats, and one independent, with one vacancy remaining.
That last open seat sits in a solidly Republican district in northern California, long held by the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who died in January. Rep. Kevin Kiley, formerly Republican and now listed as I-Calif., dropped his affiliation with the GOP.
The narrow margins mean any expulsion has real consequences for floor votes. Both parties have reason to push for accountability, and reason to calculate carefully. The House has censured five members since 2021 alone, including Paul Gosar, Adam Schiff, Rashida Tlaib, Jamaal Bowman, and Al Green. Censure is the second-highest mode of punishment, just below expulsion. But censure lets a member keep the seat.
The procedural tools available include motions to table, effectively killing a resolution, and motions to refer allegations to the Ethics Committee, which can delay action indefinitely. Congressional disciplinary mechanisms have been tested repeatedly in recent years, and the pattern is familiar: bold talk in the hallways, followed by procedural maneuvering on the floor.
The Ethics Committee's recommendation on Cherfilus-McCormick is expected next week. If the panel recommends expulsion and the full House votes, it would be only the seventh expulsion in the chamber's history. The Mills investigation has no public timeline for completion.
The resignations of Swalwell and Gonzales spared the House from a spectacle. But they also spared two members from having to face a recorded vote by their peers, a vote that would have forced every representative to go on the record about what conduct disqualifies someone from serving.
Resignation is not accountability. It is an exit. The House still has two members whose cases demand a verdict, and voters deserve to see whether their representatives have the spine to deliver one.
