Eric Michael Swalwell (; born November 16, 1980) is an American former politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 2013 to 2026. A member of the Democratic Party, Swalwell previously served on the city council for Dublin, California from 2010 to 2013.
A graduate of the University of Maryland, Swalwell worked as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County from 2006 to 2012. He was elected to Congress after defeating Democratic incumbent Pete Stark in 2012. He unsuccessfully ran for his party's nomination in the 2020 United States presidential election and the 2026 California gubernatorial election.
In April 2026, allegations of rape and other sexual misconduct led him to suspend his gubernatorial campaign and resign from Congress. He continues to deny any wrongdoing amid criminal investigations into the allegations.
Early life and education Swalwell was born on November 16, 1980, in Sac City, Iowa. He is the oldest of four sons of Eric Nelson Swalwell and Vicky Joe Swalwell, both of whom are Republicans. During his early childhood, his father served as police chief in Algona, Iowa. After leaving Iowa, the family eventually settled in Dublin, California. He graduated from Dublin High School in 1999.
Swalwell attended Campbell University and played soccer on a scholarship for the Campbell Fighting Camels from 1999 to 2001. He lost his scholarship in 2001 after breaking both his thumbs. He transferred to the University of Maryland, College Park and interned for U.S. Representative Ellen Tauscher between 2001 and 2002. After his internship, he used his role in the Student Government Association to create a program for children who lost parents in the September 11 attacks. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in government and politics in 2003. In 2006, he received a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law.
Early political career From 2006 to 2012, Swalwell worked as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County. He served on the Dublin Heritage & Cultural Arts Commission from 2006 to 2008 and on the Dublin Planning Commission from 2008 to 2010 before winning election to the Dublin City Council in 2010. While he was running for the U.S. Congress, an anonymous group attempted to recall Swalwell from the city council, but the effort was later abandoned. U.S. House of Representatives Elections 2012
In September 2011, Swalwell filed to run for Congress in California's 15th congressional district. The district had previously been the 13th, represented by 20-term incumbent Democrat Pete Stark. Swalwell took a leave of absence from the Dublin City Council to run for the seat.
Even though he was a Democrat, Swalwell was able to contest Stark in the general election because of California's "top two" primary system put in place by Proposition 14. Under that system, the top two primary vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. In the June primary, Stark finished first with 41.8% of the vote, Swalwell placed second with 36%, and independent candidate Chris Pareja third with 22.2%.
In the November general election, the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury News both endorsed Swalwell. The Stark campaign accused Swalwell of being a Tea Party candidate and refused to debate Swalwell during the campaign. In response, Swalwell organized a mock debate with an actor playing Stark, quoting him verbatim when answering the moderator. Other campaign gimmicks included rubber ducks that stood in for rubber chickens and suggested that Stark was too "chicken" to debate. Stark pointed out that the ducks were made in China and criticized Swalwell for not "buying American".
Swalwell defeated Stark, 52.1% to 47.9%.
2014
Swalwell was challenged by Republican Hugh Bussell, a senior manager at Workday, Inc., and by Democratic State Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett of Hayward. Corbett, placed third in June's primary, not earning enough votes to make the general election. Swalwell defeated Bussell in the November general election, 69.8% to 30.2%. He was sworn into his second term on January 3, 2015.
2016
Swalwell was challenged by Republican Danny Reid Turner of Livermore. He defeated Turner in the November general election, 73.8% to 26.2%. He was sworn into his third term on January 3, 2017.
2018
Swalwell was challenged by Republican Rudy Peters of Livermore. He defeated Peters in the November general election, 73.0% to 27.0%. He was sworn into his fourth term on January 3, 2019.
2020
Swalwell won the 2020 election against Republican challenger Alison Hayden, 70.9% to 29.1%.
2022
In early 2022, Swalwell was redistricted to California's 14th congressional district. He went up against and defeated Republican Alison Hayden, 69.3% to 30.7%. He was sworn into his sixth term on January 3, 2023.
2024
Swalwell was challenged by Republican Vin Kruttiventi. He defeated Kruttiventi in the November general election, 67.8% to 32.2%.https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2024-general/sov/25-us-rep-congress.pdf (PDF). California Secretary of State. He was sworn into his seventh and final term on January 3, 2025.
Tenure In his first term, Swalwell served on the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. He helped lead the fight against Transportation Security Administration administrator John S. Pistole's decision to lift the ban on pocketknives at airport security; the decision eventually was reversed.
During a House vote on June 18, 2013, Swalwell used his mobile phone to record a video of his vote against a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks (the video was a six-second clip of him pressing the "nay" button on the electronic voting machine) and uploaded it to Vine, an internet video service. House rules bar "the use of mobile electronic devices that impair decorum" and provide that "No device may be used for still photography or for audio or video recording." Swalwell defended the action, saying, "We operate under rules that were created in the 18th century, and I think it's time that the Congress start to act more like regular Americans do. I did not see this as impairing the decorum. I think what this did was highlight, for all to see, the democratic process."
On December 12, 2013, Swalwell introduced the Philippines Charitable Giving Assistance Act into the House. The bill allowed Americans to deduct from their 2013 taxes any charitable donations made between January 1 and April 15, 2014, for the relief of victims in the Republic of the Philippines of Typhoon Haiyan. On March 25, 2014, President Barack Obama signed this legislation into law.
By the conclusion of his first term, Swalwell had successfully passed three bills through the House, with two becoming law—more than any other first-term member.
In 2014, Swalwell served as chairman of Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's PAC's Young Professionals Leadership Circle due to his friendship with O'Malley. Although he made clear that his support was about the 2014 midterm elections and not an endorsement of a potential presidential bid by O'Malley in 2016, Swalwell endorsed O'Malley for president in July 2015.
As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Swalwell investigated the links between Trump associates and Russian officials during his third term. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice under the Trump administration seized Swalwell's personal data. The record seizure also targeted Adam Schiff, who chaired the House Intelligence Committee.
Swalwell served as an impeachment manager during President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial.
On March 5, 2021, Swalwell filed a civil lawsuit against Trump, Trump's son Donald Jr., Representative Mo Brooks, and Rudy Giuliani, seeking damages for their alleged role in inciting the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
In January 2023, Speaker Kevin McCarthy expelled Swalwell and Adam Schiff from the House Intelligence Committee.
Contact with suspected Chinese spy
In December 2020, Swalwell was named in an Axios story about suspected Chinese spy Fang Fang (), known as Christine Fang, who, since at least 2012, had been cultivating contacts with California politicians who the Chinese government believed had promising futures in politics. Axios reported that Fang participated in fundraising for Swalwell's 2014 congressional election bid, met Swalwell at events, and helped place an intern inside his congressional office.
Swalwell ended ties with Fang in 2015 after U.S. intelligence briefed him and top members of Congress on concerns that Chinese agents were attempting to infiltrate Congress. Axios reported that Swalwell was not accused of any impropriety, and that officials did not believe that Fang had obtained classified information from her contacts. The San Francisco Chronicle quoted an unnamed FBI official familiar with the investigation as saying that "Swalwell was completely cooperative and under no suspicion of wrongdoing".
Swalwell suggested that someone in the Trump administration may have leaked the information to the press, as he had been a vocal critic of Trump, and had served on committees involved in both of Trump's impeachments. Following the Axios report, Swalwell received death and rape threats against himself and his family.
In March 2021, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy moved to remove Swalwell from his seat on the House Intelligence Committee; his motion was rejected on a party-line vote. After McCarthy became Speaker in January 2023, resumed removing Swalwell from the committee, saying, "If you got the briefing I got from the FBI, you wouldn't have Swalwell on any committee." Swalwell characterized McCarthy's action as "purely vengeance". Intelligence Committee members are term-limited and Swalwell's membership expired in January 2023.
The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Swalwell in April 2021. The committee wrote him in May 2023 that the investigation had been closed with no further action while also cautioning members to "be conscious of the possibility that foreign governments may attempt to secure improper influence through gifts and interactions".
In August 2026, according to newly declassified documents released by the White House Government Transparency Task Force, Swalwell told FBI investigators he had physical relations with Fang.
Resignation On April 11, 2026, in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations which caused Swalwell to drop out of the 2026 California gubernatorial election, Axios reported that Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna intended to file a bill forcing the expulsion of Swalwell and representative Tony Gonzales, another member of the House of Representatives accused of sexual misconduct. On April 13, both Swalwell and Gonzales resigned from Congress.
On August 15, 2026, FBI agents served a search warrant on Swalwell at San Francisco International Airport and seized an Apple iPhone, charging cable and adapter, and an Apple MacBook Pro, according to court records. Newly released surveillance footage showed agents approaching Swalwell near his gate after he exited a plane and escorting him into a restricted area. The search was part of a federal investigation related to allegations of sexual misconduct against him. He was not charged with a crime.
Committee assignments For the 119th Congress: Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection (Ranking Member) Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Crime and Federal Government Surveillance
Caucus memberships House Democratic Steering Committee (co-chair) American Sikh Congressional Caucus Black Maternal Health Caucus Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus Blue Collar Caucus Congressional Blockchain Caucus