Congress Tries to Patch an Ethics Leak With Expulsion Votes

Congress is supposed to be the room where problems get argued into shape. Lately it feels like a courthouse hallway: hushed voices, hard stares, and somebody clutching the folder marked “procedure” while the building smolders.

Congress reaches a breaking point on its ethics crisis

Axios reports the House’s ethics mess hit a new peak when two members said they would leave rather than risk being pushed out: Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas).

• Swalwell: He says he plans to resign as he faces sexual misconduct allegations and a newly opened House Ethics Committee investigation. The committee says it is investigating whether he violated standards of conduct regarding allegations of sexual misconduct, including toward an employee under his supervision. That phrase matters. When power sits on one side of the table, “consent” is not a Hallmark card. It is a question Congress should treat like it owns a dictionary.
• Gonzales: He says he will retire after bipartisan calls for expulsion. The Associated Press reports the Ethics Committee initiated an investigation after he admitted to an affair with a staff member who later died by suicide. He posted that he would file his retirement when Congress returns, without detailing the timing.

Axios also points to two more members under heavy scrutiny: Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) and Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.).

• Cherfilus-McCormick: In a statement dated April 10, 2026, the Ethics Committee says an adjudicatory subcommittee found multiple counts in a Statement of Alleged Violations proven. The committee will hold a public hearing on April 21, 2026 to determine what sanction, if any, to recommend to the House.
• Mills: AP reports the Ethics Committee announced a wide-ranging investigation, including whether he violated campaign finance laws, misused congressional resources, and engaged in sexual misconduct or dating violence. The same report notes a Florida judge ordered him to have no contact with his ex-girlfriend and to stay away from her home and workplace. The committee also emphasized that opening an investigation does not mean a violation occurred.

The tradeoff: swift catharsis versus due process

When scandals pile up, expulsion starts sounding like air freshener for a dumpster fire. But expulsion is the House’s most severe internal weapon, and using it before a full process risks setting a precedent where majorities can vote out members when the news cycle peaks.

Axios reports Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have expressed hesitation about pushing members out before full due process. That is not softness. It is a guardrail. The problem is the current system also tempts shortcuts because it can move slowly and unclearly, leaving a vacuum that gets filled with weaponized outrage.

Congress does not need a new moral code. It needs functional machinery: clear, public steps, real hearings like the one scheduled for April 21, and consequences calibrated to evidence instead of trending topics. If Congress cannot police itself without turning into either a kangaroo court or a country club, what exactly is the job?