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By Jasmine Laws
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Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell’s decision to suspend his California governor campaign and resign from Congress has not only derailed his own political career but is now casting an uncomfortable shadow over a longtime ally: Senator Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat widely touted as a potential presidential contender in 2028.
On Monday, Swalwell issued a formal statement of resignation from Congress, following a wave of sexual misconduct allegations and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office confirming it opened an investigation into one allegation—that he allegedly sexually assaulted a former staffer in a New York City hotel.
In the statement, Swalwell said he was "deeply sorry" to his family, staff, and constituents for "mistakes in judgment" he had made, while insisting the allegations against him were false and saying he would contest them.
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Swalwell added that he was aware of efforts to trigger an immediate House expulsion vote but argued that expelling a member "without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong." He said, however, that it was also wrong for his constituents to be represented by a lawmaker distracted from his duties. The resignation came a day after Swalwell announced he was suspending his gubernatorial campaign after entering the race as a leading contender.
The collapse of Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign was swift. Within days of reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN detailing accusations from multiple women, prominent Democratic allies withdrew their support, staffers resigned, and party leaders urged him to step aside.
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Attention has now turned to Gallego, who chaired Swalwell’s 2020 presidential campaign and remained publicly supportive in recent days as criticism mounted. The two are close. In November last year, at an event in California, Swalwell introduced the senator to the audience as "my best friend in the world." Their kids went to the same baseball camp, Gallego told The New York Times.
As recently as early April, Gallego defended Swalwell on social media, suggesting that attacks were politically motivated and a byproduct of his status as a front-runner.
Days later, after detailed reporting on the allegations was published, Gallego reversed course, withdrew his endorsement, and said he regretted coming to Swalwell’s defense before knowing the full scope of the accusations.
He wrote in a post on X that he took the Chronicle’s reporting "seriously" and that the allegations were "indefensible."
"Women who come forward with accounts like this deserve to be heard with respect, not questioned or dismissed," Gallego said. "I regret having come to his defense on social media prior to knowing all the information."
He added that he had withdrawn his endorsement of Swalwell, "effective immediately."
Following Swalwell's statement of resignation, the senator also said in a post on X on Monday: "I support the ethics committee’s investigation and believe Eric Swalwell is no longer fit to be a Member of Congress. He should be expelled from Congress."
He added that he had "no knowledge of the allegations of assault, harassment, and predatory behavior against Eric Swalwell," and that he now believes "it is now clear that [Swalwell] is not the person I thought I knew."
Newsweek has contacted both Swalwell and Gallego for comment. Gallego has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and there is no allegation that he was aware of or involved in the conduct alleged against Swalwell.
"It’s like he was leading a double life," Gallego said in an interview with The New York Times on Monday, adding that he and his family were surprised by the revelations.
Despite his assertions, prominent commentators and political opponents have questioned what Gallego knew about Swalwell’s behavior.
"What did Senator Ruben Gallego know and when did he know it?" asked journalist Yashar Ali in a post on X Sunday.
New York Republican Representative Mike Lawler went further on Monday, demanding that Gallego "immediately release all text messages, emails, signal chats, social media communications, photos and videos" between himself and Swalwell.
"If they were best friends, there is almost zero percent chance he didn’t know and didn’t in fact exchange some sort of communication on it," Lawler wrote on X. "These women deserve full accountability."
Arizona Republican state Senator Warren Petersen, who is running for election as the state’s attorney general, wrote on X before Swalwell's resignation from Congress: "The Swalwell ship is sinking. The Gallego ship will go down too."
The timing is significant as Gallego, a Marine veteran who won a high‑profile Senate race in Arizona in 2024, has recently said he is leaving the door open to a future presidential run.
"We have to look at it," he said in an interview with NBC News earlier this month.
Even without a formal campaign, early incidents like this can raise questions that may linger, or be revisited, once campaigning begins in earnest.
Some political experts, though, aren't so sure this will be too damaging to Gallego's 2028 chances.
Alison Dagnes, professor and chair in the Department of Political Science at Shippensburg University, told Newsweek that while Gallego's initial reaction was "problematic," he has since pulled his endorsement, and she did not believe that in two years' time voters would remember his initial social media post.
"If 2024 taught us nothing, it was instructive that a candidate is best served by doing a ton of media," she said. "Mistakes get lost in the sauce when there's a lot of sauce being made."
She added that if Gallego was serious about running in 2028 for president, he would "likely flood podcast-land and streaming-ville with more content and information about him that will lessen the impact of any one issue, tweet, or quote."
If asked now about his early support for Swalwell, Dagnes said Gallego would likely "pivot to discussing the destructive tone of our discourse and intemperate accusations, and then return to his stand as a supporter of women."
Whether the Swalwell controversy endures as a liability for Gallego remains to be seen. But the speed with which attention turned to him after Swalwell’s campaign collapsed offers a preview of the scrutiny Gallego would face should he move toward a 2028 presidential run.
Update, 04/14/2026, 6:47 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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