Eric Swalwell Flew Too Close to the Sun
And, like Icarus, suffered a swift fall
Maybe, had Eric Swalwell been content to serve as the House representative for California’s 14th District, his dirty, filthy laundry would have remained in the dark, tucked away where it wouldn’t be seen.
But Swalwell, like so many before him, hungry for more — more money, more power, more cache — flew too close to the sun.
And, like the mythical Icarus, he came crashing back down to Earth, undone by his own hubris and the apparent belief that he, unlike the women he allegedly violated, was untouchable.
Young, generically telegenic, and an outspoken critic of the corruption and chaos of the Trump regime that made him a favorite of the cable and online news circuit, Swalwell’s national profile had risen in recent years. With current California Gov. Gavin Newsom term-limited and unable to seek a third term, Swalwell decided to run to succeed him, a huge role given the state’s population and massive economy, which ranks fourth-largest in the world.
Despite being targeted by Donald Trump’s FBI in what initially seemed like yet another retaliatory fishing expedition, Swalwell was leading in polls for the June 2 primary.
And then five brave women found the courage to tell their stories, accusing Swalwell of sexual abuse and rape and persistently sending them explicit messages.
Within days, Swalwell’s nascent political career was gone. First he withdrew from the governor’s race, and then, under bipartisan pressure, he resigned his seat in the House, though he has denied the worst allegations against him.
Underscoring his belief that he could fly higher without consequence, Ian Calderon, one of Swalwell’s former competitors in the gubernatorial race who endorsed him after dropping out, told Politico that Swalwell was “indignant and adamant” there was nothing when Calderon pressed him on whether there was anything of concern that could come to light.
Sen. Reuben Gallego (D-AZ), who had called Swalwell his best friend, told reporters that Swalwell had become “extremely professional” at lying to his friends, family, and community.
Hours after Swalwell left Congress in disgrace, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) followed him out the door, though it took weeks for things to get hot enough for Gonzales that he had to, in his words, “retire” from his seat.
In February, the San Antonio Express-News reported on a 2024 affair between Gonzales and an aide in one of his district offices; Gonzales had sent the woman multiple text messages requesting sexually explicit photos, even after she pushed back. The woman later died by suicide. A second woman, who worked on his 2020 campaign, has since come forward with texts allegedly showing that Gonzales repeatedly asked her for nude photos and sent numerous other crude messages.
Sadly, it’s not surprising that Gonzales continued to work on Capitol Hill as usual for as long as he did after news of his alleged misdeeds was reported; he is, after all, a member of the Party of Trump, a man who was found civilly liable for sexual assault by a jury of his peers, has been accused of sexual misconduct by at least 28 women, and still was elected president.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who presents himself as über-pious and was already angering women in the Republican caucus for noticeably keeping them out of leadership roles, further drew women’s ire for mishandling the allegations against Gonzales. Johnson told Gonzales to end his reelection bid but did not support the calls for his resignation.
Similarly, Johnson has done nothing in regard to Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL). Over six months ago, a judge issued a restraining order against Mills for repeatedly harassing and threatening an ex-girlfriend. Earlier in 2025, police in Washington D.C. responded to a 911 call made by a different woman, who alleged that Mills had grabbed her and pushed her out of a door.
With Gonzales now out, the pressure to oust Mills — who also allegedly grossly exaggerated his military record — is intensifying.
It is not a new concept. Swalwell and Gonzales are not the first men of a certain stature to allegedly use their power to get what they want. And some will continue to do so, regardless of who leaves Congress and who drops a bid for office.
Swalwell’s exit from politics may have happened much quicker than Gonzales’s, but we have since learned that there had long been whispers about him in Washington.
Still, as one California lobbyist told Politico, when it came to Swalwell, “Did people see what they want to see or hear what they want to hear or not ask the questions they didn’t want the answers to? One thousand percent.”
They believed him when he repeatedly, flatly said there was no truth to all of the rumors.
Though Gonzales eventually admitted to the affair with his staffer, he painted the revelations as a smear campaign by his primary opponent.
Swalwell has been even more forceful in his denials.
Swalwell was relentlessly pursuing the limelight — until those women, set aflame by the thought of his further ascension, would cause his Icarian fall.
Shalise Manza Young was most recently a columnist at Yahoo Sports, focusing on the intersection of race, gender and culture in sports. The Associated Press Sports Editors named her one of the 10 best columnists in the country in 2020. She has also written for the Boston Globe and Providence Journal. Find her on Bluesky @shalisemyoung.