House Narrowly Avoids Historic Four-Member Expulsion Week as Swalwell and Gonzales Resign Under Pressure

The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly avoided what would have been an unprecedented week of four simultaneous member expulsions after Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX) chose to resign rather than face formal removal proceedings. However, the chamber still faces the prospect of expulsion votes against Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) and Cory Mills (R-FL), raising complex questions about partisan parity, razor-thin margins, and the institutional limits of congressional self-policing.

The resignations of Swalwell and Gonzales mark a dramatic escalation in the ongoing turbulence within the 119th Congress. Swalwell, a California Democrat who had served since 2013 and gained national prominence through his role on the House Intelligence Committee and his involvement in impeachment proceedings against former President Donald Trump, faced mounting pressure over allegations that had dogged him for years — most notably his past interactions with a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, Christine Fang. While Swalwell was never accused of wrongdoing by federal investigators, congressional Republicans had long sought to leverage the episode against him, and the Ethics Committee’s renewed scrutiny appeared to precipitate his departure. Gonzales, a Texas Republican representing a sprawling border district, had faced his own set of controversies including personal conduct allegations and growing friction with his own party’s base over his bipartisan stances on immigration and gun legislation. His resignation removes a figure who had become increasingly isolated within the House GOP conference.

The remaining expulsion cases against Cherfilus-McCormick and Mills present a far thornier challenge for House leadership. Cherfilus-McCormick, who won a special election in 2022 to represent Florida’s 20th Congressional District, has faced scrutiny over alleged campaign finance irregularities and questions surrounding her initial primary victory, which she won by just five votes. Mills, a freshman Republican also from Florida, has been embroiled in allegations related to his conduct and potential misuse of congressional resources. The political calculus surrounding these cases is particularly delicate: expelling one member from each party would maintain partisan parity, but leadership in both parties may be reluctant to lose seats in a chamber where the Republican majority can be measured in single digits. Historically, the House has been extraordinarily reluctant to expel members. The two-thirds supermajority threshold — established under Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution — means that any expulsion requires substantial bipartisan support, a rarity in today’s polarized environment. The last House expulsion before the modern era occurred in 1861, when the chamber removed members who had joined the Confederacy. In the modern era, only Rep. Michael Myers (1980, Abscam), Rep. James Traficant (2002, corruption conviction), and Rep. George Santos (2023, fraud and financial misconduct) have been expelled.

The immediate question facing the House is whether the remaining expulsion proceedings will actually reach a vote or whether the departures of Swalwell and Gonzales relieve enough political pressure to allow quiet resolution. The vacancies created by the two resignations will trigger special elections in California and Texas, the timing of which will be set by their respective governors. In the interim, Speaker Mike Johnson must manage an even thinner majority while navigating a legislative calendar that includes critical votes on government funding, the debt ceiling, and defense authorization. Each vacant seat reduces the total number of members, which in turn lowers the threshold needed for a simple majority — but also lowers the two-thirds bar needed for any expulsion. Congressional procedure experts note that if both Cherfilus-McCormick and Mills were expelled, the resulting four vacancies would temporarily reduce the House to 431 members, making the majority threshold just 216 votes — a margin that could reshape outcomes on closely contested legislation for months until special elections fill the seats.

The broader institutional implications extend beyond the immediate political math. If the House proceeds with two additional expulsions on top of two scandal-driven resignations in a single Congress, it would signal a dramatic shift in how the chamber approaches internal discipline — moving from an institution that historically tolerated enormous misconduct before acting to one that increasingly views expulsion as a viable corrective tool. Whether that represents a healthy evolution in accountability or a dangerous weaponization of institutional power depends largely on the strength of the evidence presented and the degree to which proceedings are seen as fair and nonpartisan.