Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) announced on Monday that he would resign from Congress, officially filing his retirement on Tuesday, just days before a potential expulsion vote that could have made him the seventh member ever removed from the House.

Gonzales had been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over a relationship with a former senior aide in his office. He acknowledged an affair with the former staffer, who later died by suicide, as covered by The Dallas Express.

Minutes before Gonzales’ announcement, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) said he would also resign. Both lawmakers had faced mounting pressure from colleagues over separate allegations of sexual misconduct involving former staffers.

Swalwell, who dropped his bid for California governor after the allegations surfaced, said in a statement that he took responsibility for mistakes but would fight what he called false claims.

“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,” Swalwell posted. “I will fight the serious, false allegations made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”

He added, “I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members. Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong. But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.”

 

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Gonzales posted on X: “There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas.”

The resignations came as the House prepared to return from Easter recess Tuesday with a slim Republican majority of 219-214. House leaders in both parties had privately resisted expulsion votes, which have happened only six times in history, but a bipartisan plan had emerged for dueling resolutions: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), targeting Swalwell, and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) targeting Gonzales. The goal was to remove one member from each party without shifting the balance of power.

Luna had escalated pressure on Tuesday morning, writing on X that she would move forward with an expulsion resolution against Swalwell if he had not formally resigned with the Clerk of the House by 2 p.m.

“If Congressman Swalwell has not resigned with the Clerk of the House by 2 PM today, I will continue my resolution regarding his expulsion,” Luna wrote. “His statement about his ‘plan to resign his seat’ is not binding and is wormy. The same goes for Tony.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Luna posted on X that she had been notified that Swalwell had officially submitted his resignation to the House Clerk, effective immediately.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Tuesday that both men made the right decision.

“I do,” Johnson said when asked whether he believes the lawmakers acted appropriately, Fox News reported. “My views have been known about the terrible allegations that were made and obviously the facts that they both admitted to, and I think it was the appropriate thing.”

The departures marked a sudden end to a months-long saga.

Gonzales had already dropped his reelection bid at the urging of GOP leaders but had remained in office until Monday. Swalwell, first elected in 2013, had faced at least four women’s accusations of sexual misconduct, including claims from a former aide. He has denied the most serious allegations.