The resignation of California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell following multiple allegations of sexual assault and harassment has set off a chain reaction in Congress, where other lawmakers accused of ethical and legal lapses now find themselves pressured to resign or face expulsion from the body entirely. After Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales promised to follow Swalwell into retirement amid his own sexual misconduct scandal, critics “shifted their sights to another set of scandals” in their legislative chamber, said The Hill. The focus now lands on Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), who’s accused of funneling “millions in improperly paid disaster funds into her campaign,” and Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who faces allegations of sexual misconduct and financial malfeasance. 

The House has only ever expelled six members, the “most recent being former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) in 2023,” said Puck. The current “expulsion mania” highlights the “extraordinary situation that House leaders in both parties face right now.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had “previously called for ethics investigations to play out in the Gonzales case” with an official committee investigation pending, said Politico. The “consensus of this body” is that Cherfilus-McCormick “should be expelled,” said Johnson. 

There’s likely an “appetite to do it and just rip the Band-Aid off once,” said one House Democrat to Axios. But given the state of Congress, expulsions are “probably hard to accomplish.” 

The Trump administration has turned to a “trusted ally” to push a “controversial” domestic intelligence program across the legislative finish line, as section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act nears an April 20 renewal deadline, said Politico. In a letter to lawmakers, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine pressed for an 18-month renewal of the program, which the government uses to “collect the text and emails of foreigners abroad,” though it can “also inadvertently sweep up data on Americans.” The letter comes as Speaker Mike Johnson (pictured above at center) works to “shove the extension through the Rules Committee” in hopes of a floor vote this week. 

Efforts to renew the bill have met bipartisan opposition from legislators “concerned” the law allows the government to “spy on the communications of American citizens without a warrant,” said NPR. A “looming” fight to “bolster the law’s civil liberties protections” is likely to be “bruising,” since the issue “doesn’t break cleanly along party lines.” 

Trump has claimed Sec. 702 is “essential for the ongoing war in Iran,” said The Verge. But Fourth Amendment concerns from “libertarian-leaning Republicans,” Democrats with “long-standing objections to the surveillance authority,” and those “wary of extending” Trump and White House adviser Stephen Miller’s “access to Americans’ communications” have revitalized efforts to reform the controversial law.

Miller and CIA Director John Ratcliffe are leading the administration’s “eleventh-hour push to convince skeptical Republican lawmakers,” said CNN. CIA officials have approached “former national security officials in Democratic administrations” to “appeal to hesitant Democrats.”

Pope Leo condemned the war and Trump accused him of ‘catering to the radical left’