Crisis in the US Congress: What does the resignation of three congressmen mean in just over a week?

“I sincerely apologize to my family, my team and my constituents for the errors in judgment I have made in the past. I will fight the serious and false accusation that has been leveled against me; however, I must take responsibility and acknowledge the errors that I did make,” Swalwell wrote in his resignation letter. “I am aware of efforts to carry out an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members. Expelling anyone from Congress without due process, within days of an accusation being filed, is wrong. But it is also wrong for my constituents to see me distracted from my duties,” he continued, assuring that he would work with his team to ensure they can serve their district.

The fall of Republican Tony Gonzales occurred almost simultaneously with that of Swalwell, although the accusations that were pending against him had been around for longer, revolving around his alleged extramarital relationship with a former member of his team who ended up taking her own life. Only in March of this year, in the middle of the campaign to be re-elected as a representative of Texas, Gonzales accepted the illicit relationship, although he denied being responsible for the fatal decision made by his ex-lover.

The Congressional Ethics Committee opened a case against Gonzales in March, but his resignation came just hours after Swalwell announced his departure.

“Everything has its time, and God has a plan for all of us,” Gonzales wrote in X on April 13 as a farewell. “When Congress resumes sessions tomorrow, I will tender my resignation from office. It has been my privilege to serve the wonderful people of Texas.”

The last congresswoman to resign and the only one not involved in sexual scandals was Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, whose departure occurred amid federal accusations for the alleged diversion of millions of dollars in public funds towards her campaign, in addition to multiple ethical violations detected by Congress itself.

Specifically, a subcommittee of the Ethics Commission had found Cherfilus-McCormick responsible for 25 violations related to campaign finance and related conduct, including the diversion of $5 million in federal disaster relief funds to her election campaign.

Despite his resignation, Cherfilus-McCormick described the proceedings against her as a “witch hunt” and stated that the Ethics Committee “rejected my new attorney’s reasonable request for time to prepare my defense.”

Her departure from Congress will not stop a judicial process against her for the same charges, for which she could be sentenced to up to 53 years in prison.

For Puerta Riera, beyond the individual cases, the wave of resignations has highlighted a contrast in the way in which Democrats and Republicans face internal crises.

“The Democratic Party, which I am not saying is perfect, at least tends to act more quickly when faced with complaints and pressures its members to resign,” he considers. “In contrast, the Republican Party tends to hold out longer, even waiting for a ‘political balance’ before making decisions.”

It is this political balance that for the expert unites the cases of Swalwell and Gonzales, highlighting that the latter had already had accusations hanging for months about his inappropriate relationship with a former collaborator who later ended her life.

“Republicans refused to sacrifice Gonzales if there was no counterpart in the Democratic Party, which ultimately was Swalwell“, indicates the political scientist.

This was different from the Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick case, where there was bipartisan pressure to oust her.

The expert also points out that despite the media attention, the resignations do not significantly alter the functioning of the Lower House, since the Republican majority remains intact and the vacant seats do not modify the correlation of forces.

“The Chamber is already dysfunctional, but not because of these three legislators,” says Puerta Riera. “It’s not going to be any more or less dysfunctional.”

He adds that it will not have a major impact on the midterm elections in November, where new members of the House of Representatives (Senate and Congress) will be elected, as well as the governors of several states. Perhaps where there will be the most impact is in California, a state in which Swalwell was the favorite for the governor’s race, but as a Democratic bastion that it is, the changes will be reflected more in the configuration of candidates than in a shift in the electorate.