In its 237-year history, the House of Representatives has only expelled six members. This week, that total was set to climb as at least two members, and perhaps as many as four, faced votes on expulsion resolutions that appeared to have bipartisan support.
Those votes are no longer necessary. MS NOW reported:
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, announced Monday that he plans to retire from Congress, after facing mounting scrutiny over multiple allegations of sexual misconduct involving former staffers, including an affair with an aide who later died by suicide. […]
Gonzales is the second member of Congress to announce plans to step down while facing allegations of sexual misconduct in the span of a few hours. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., also said he would leave the House after he was accused of sexual misconduct.
The Texas Republican’s written announcement said he’s filing his “retirement.” In case his word choice generated any confusion, however, it’s worth clarifying that Gonzales, who had already given up his re-election bid, is stepping down from his office this week, not at the end of his current term.
The demise of Swalwell’s and Gonzales’ political careers was increasingly likely in light of the seriousness of their scandals, and given the circumstances, it’s a safe bet that both parties’ leaders won’t be sad to see them go.
If it seems there has been an unusually high number of resignations over the past year or so, it’s not your imagination. Two sitting Republican senators (Ohio’s JD Vance and Florida’s Marco Rubio) resigned to join the Trump administration, as did one sitting Republican House member (Florida’s Mike Waltz). Another Democratic House member also resigned after winning a gubernatorial election (New Jersey’s Mikie Sherrill).
But the list keeps going. Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida resigned shortly before the current Congress began, and roughly six months later, Republican Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee also gave up his seat to take an undisclosed job in the private sector. As 2026 got underway, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia joined the club, shortly after she became eligible for a congressional pension.
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Steve Benen
Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
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