Category: USA Politics

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Former Democratic Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax was found dead in an apparent murder-suicide on Thursday morning, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. 

Fairfax served as the 41st lieutenant governor under Gov. Ralph Northam between Jan. 13, 2018, to Jan. 15, 2022.

Fairfax was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania before moving to Annandale. 

Fairfax shared two children with his wife. 

This is a breaking news post and will be updated. 

Senate Democrats blocked an attempt to defund and abolish a monument to a prominent labor union activist who was recently hit with bombshell allegations of being a serial predator.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, tried to pass legislation that would have defunded the monument to Cesar Chavez, who co-founded the United Farm Workers. The monument sits in California on property that was once his home and where his labor movement was born.

Chavez was once a revered figure, particularly among Democrats, until a bombshell New York Times report in March detailed allegations of a pattern of sexual misconduct, including abusing and grooming minors. The alleged victims had stayed silent even after his death.

SENATOR GALLEGO SAYS LONGTIME FRIENDSHIP WITH SWALWELL ‘CLOUDED MY JUDGMENT’ AS RUMORS SWIRLED IN DC

“Due to Senator Heinrich’s shameful actions, the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument — a known crime scene where much of Chavez’s abhorrent abuse of women and girls occurred — will continue to operate on the American people’s dime, and it is sickening,” Cornyn told Fox News Digital. 

But the effort was blocked by Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., who acknowledged the alleged abuse on the Senate floor Tuesday and said it “necessarily and profoundly changes Cesar Chavez’s legacy and how he should be remembered.”

While he agreed there should not be a monument named after Chavez, Heinrich warned that removing it would erase the stories of farm laborers and sweep his “violence under the rug.”

“When we learn shocking or terrible things about our history, the right answer is to tell the truth — never to hide it,” Heinrich said. “I’m concerned that what my colleague from Texas is proposing could do just that: Hide the truth about Cesar Chavez and, unfortunately, the incredible farmworker movement with it.”

SWALWELL OUT AMID SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS AFTER 13 YEARS IN CONGRESS

Heinrich’s move to block the legislation came the same day two members of the House — former Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas — resigned from Congress over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Cornyn’s No Funding to Honor Crime Scenes Act, which made its way through the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee — where Heinrich is the top Democrat — is part of a broader push to erase Chavez’s name from several physical manifestations of his legacy.

“It is mind-boggling that anyone would want to keep Cesar Chavez’s name on a national monument honoring the very spot where he is accused of assaulting women and children,” Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee, R-Utah, told Fox News Digital. “Democrats should be ashamed.”

GONZALES RESIGNS IN WAKE OF RENEWED EXPULSION THREAT AFTER SCANDAL

The bill would have abolished the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, which was created by former President Barack Obama in 2012 to honor the late labor activist, by requiring Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to sell off the federal land on which it sits.

That would include selling Chavez’s home and the contents of his personal office, where some of the alleged abuse occurred.

The legislation would also require that any federal funds allocated to the monument be redirected to provide law enforcement resources for forensic analysis of crime scenes and untested rape kits — a measure Cornyn worked on with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., to reauthorize in 2024.

Maine is on the verge of becoming the first state in the nation to slam the brakes on energy-hungry AI data centers, as lawmakers push back against tech giants over fears of higher power bills, strained grids and environmental impact.

The measure, now headed to Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, would pause approvals for data centers requiring more than 20 megawatts of power until October 2027, while a state-appointed council studies their impact on the power grid, energy bills and the environment.

The legislation passed the state’s Democrat-controlled House 79-62 and Senate 21-13, marking one of the most aggressive moves yet against the rapid expansion of data centers tied to artificial intelligence and Big Tech.

Supporters say the pause is needed to protect residents from the massive energy demands of so-called “hyperscale” facilities, which can consume as much electricity as small cities.

SEN BERNIE SANDERS: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS COMING FOR THE WORKING CLASS. WE MUST FIGHT BACK

“It’s not that there’s no place for data centers in Maine,” Democratic Rep. Melanie Sachs, who sponsored the measure, told The Associated Press. “Frankly, the tradeoffs have not been shown to be of benefit to our ratepayers, water usage or community benefit in terms of economic activity.”

Opposition to data centers has been building nationwide as communities raise alarms about strain on power grids, higher electricity bills and heavy water use. Analysts have warned that parts of the U.S. grid could face reliability issues in the coming years if demand continues to surge.

In February, Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced a bill aimed at ensuring the electricity costs of data centers are not passed on to American consumers.

At least 11 other states are considering restrictions like Maine’s, but Maine’s bill is the first to pass both legislative chambers, potentially setting a precedent.

MAJOR TECH COMPANIES BACK TRUMP PLEDGE TO PAY MORE FOR DATA CENTER ELECTRICITY AHEAD OF SIGNING

Critics argue the move could drive away investment and jobs.

“We think that these data centers could bring good jobs, good opportunities to these regions,” Montana Towers, a policy analyst with the free market Maine Policy Institute, told the AP. “And a lot of these concerns about them are luddite in nature.”

The Trump administration has backed data center expansion as critical to competing with China in artificial intelligence, even as it recently pushed tech companies to commit to covering the cost of new power generation needed to run their facilities.

Mills has not said whether she will sign the bill, though she has sought an exemption for a smaller project already underway that would reuse existing infrastructure.

If enacted, Maine’s moratorium would serve as a test case for how states balance economic growth against the mounting energy demands of the AI boom.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

America’s young men are increasingly turning to religion and professing that it is taking a more central role in their lives, according to a new Gallup poll.

The poll released Wednesday found that 42% of men under 30 years old now profess that religion is “very important” to them. That number is up from 28% from a poll conducted in 2023.

The data is also significant in showing a reversal of the traditional gender gap in religiosity. For older age groups, women consistently report higher levels of religiosity than men, but women in the under-30 group have remained with just 30% saying religion is “very important.”

“The percentage of young men saying religion is very important to them is now similar to the percentage for men aged 30-49 and only slightly lower than for senior men,” Gallup wrote.

TRUMP RETURNS TO NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST AS FAITH TAKES CENTER STAGE IN SECOND TERM

“Young women, by contrast, are now by far the least religious women. At 29% calling religion very important, women aged 18-29 trail the next-least religious group, 30- to 49-year-old women, by 18 points and are less than half as likely as senior women to say religion is very important,” Gallup said.

The poll also found a spike in young men saying they attend a religious service on at least a monthly basis, jumping from 33% in 2023 to 40% in 2025.

The growth in church attendance and religiosity is most apparent among young Republicans politically, rising from 40% in 2019 to 52% in 2025. That number is still well below the 60% of Republican men who said they attended church monthly in 2007.

Democratic young men have continuously dropped in church attendance since 2000, according to the polling data. In 2000, 40% of Democratic men reported church attendance, compared to just 26% in the latest poll.

Gallup’s data on the importance of religion is based on 4,015 interviews with U.S. adults, including 295 men under 30 and 145 women under 30. The data on church attendance is based on reports from over 26,000 U.S. adults, including 1,905 men under 30 and 832 women under 30.

Billionaire investor Tom Steyer is positioning himself as a critic of elites and immigration enforcement in California’s governor’s race — even as his own record, including investments in private prisons tied to ICE detention, draws scrutiny.

That tension is surfacing on the campaign trail, with Democratic rival Rep. Katie Porter highlighting Steyer’s past $90 million investment in a private prison firm tied to ICE facilities, while Republican candidates cast his immigration platform as extreme.

Steyer made his fortune overseeing Farallon Capital, a $20 billion hedge fund that invested in coal companies and private prisons, and is now running for governor on a platform targeting corporate tax loopholes, immigration enforcement and climate policy.

The California billionaire has outlined that approach most clearly on immigration, laying out a five-point plan to abolish ICE, including allowing state prosecutors to bring cases against agents and expanding legal protections for detained immigrants. Steyer calls it a plan to “put ICE in jail.”

DAVID MARCUS: HOW MANY SWALWELL-STYLE CREEPS ARE DEMOCRATS PROTECTING?

“The true test of a leader is not who they disparage and attack, but who they defend and uplift. Donald Trump attacks and robs the most vulnerable in our society, while protecting and enriching the most powerful,” the billionaire Steyer wrote in his plan on X.

Under Steyer’s leadership, Farallon Capital invested $90 million in CoreCivic, which runs private prisons, including two ICE detention facilities. California gubernatorial candidate Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., brought attention to Steyer’s past business dealings on X, where she responded to a post by Steyer vowing to prosecute ICE.

“If they’re criminals, does that make the guy who invested $90M in their facilities an accessory?” Porter said, quoting Steyer.

Steyer called the investment a “mistake” after pushback from progressives.

“It was also a big wake-up call that I was in the wrong place, that I was in a business that was taking me to places I absolutely didn’t want to go,” Steyer said at a March town hall. “And there’s a reason I walked away from that business and walked away from a ton of money.”

That anti-ICE plan drew fire from Republican candidate Steve Hilton, who called it “insanity” and accused Steyer of “trying to buy this election because he has no real support.”

“This is far-left extremism beyond anything we saw during the Biden years. It’s an extension of the Biden open-borders agenda on the home front,” Hilton said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “He is calling for federal agents to be targeted on the streets and thrown in jail for enforcing the law. That is incitement. It puts a target on the backs of the men and women in uniform and empowers the most radical anti-government extremists.”

WHY ERIC SWALWELL WAS FORCED TO QUIT CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S RACE AFTER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS

This isn’t Steyer’s first attempt at winning elected office. He dropped out of the 2020 presidential race after losing three Democratic primary contests. He spent nearly $250 million of his personal funds in that campaign.

Steyer has since donated $112 million to his 2026 gubernatorial campaign, dwarfing the hauls of his opponents. Forbes has estimated Steyer’s net worth at $2 billion.

Running on a platform that includes universal healthcare and free college, Steyer has aligned himself with progressive figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has called him a “friend,” though Sanders has also said he is not a “fan of billionaires getting involved” in politics.

Steyer left the hedge fund he founded in 2012 to pursue his climate and clean energy advocacy work, which included creating his climate advocacy group NextGen America.

His money and campaigning have been behind three successful ballot measures and helped prevent another, including donating $12 million to California Proposition 50, the “Election Rigging Response Act” in 2025. The measure was passed, allowing for California to redraw its congressional districts to incorporate larger shares of urban and suburban voters, which Republicans unsuccessfully challenged in court.

BIANCO SAYS ‘DEMOCRAT POLICY IS INDEFENSIBLE’ AS GOP CANDIDATES TOP CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR POLLING

In 2010, he joined a campaign and donated $5 million to defeat Proposition 23, backed by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. The measure sought to overturn California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. He also led measures that closed tax loopholes allowing corporations to avoid paying taxes in California and raised taxes on tobacco to supplement healthcare programs.

Steyer has received the endorsement of Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., citing his support for taxing billionaires and his push for single-payer healthcare, among other issues.

“Tom has also been a bold leader on climate,” Khanna said. “We need a bold progressive agenda in California. That’s why I’m supporting Tom Steyer for governor.” 

Steyer faces competition from Democratic candidates Rep. Katie Porter D-Calif., former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Biden era Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, among others. Rep. Eric Swalwell D-Calif., deemed the frontrunner, dropped out of the race amid sexual assault allegations.

Fox News Digital reached out to Steyer for comment.

Mounting sexual misconduct allegations against Rep. Eric Swalwell led him to resign from Congress and drop out of the California gubernatorial race, but legal experts say the fallout could extend beyond politics, including potential disbarment.

Swalwell is facing a string of accusations, including that he drugged and raped one woman and sexually assaulted one of his staffers, which have spurred at least two local criminal investigations. The accusations, which he has largely denied, have driven not just his exile from the political world but could now expose him to possible broader career repercussions.

Hans von Spakovsky, legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, told Fox News Digital that Swalwell is bound by the State Bar of California’s rules of professional conduct. Swalwell has had an active license to practice law in the state since 2006.

‘SMART DECISION’: SWALWELL’S RESIGNATION SPURS PRAISE FROM BOTH PARTIES AFTER BOMBSHELL ALLEGATIONS EMERGE

The state lists what would constitute professional misconduct, which the bar could investigate and then decide to suspend or revoke Swalwell’s license. Von Spakovsky noted that “dishonesty, fraud, [and] deceit” are included, as well as “moral turpitude.”

“It would be up to the State Bar to investigate and see if his behavior falls within any of these or other prohibitions,” Von Spakovsky said.

Jonathan Turley, George Washington University law professor, said Democratic allies and left-leaning media previously “shielded” Swalwell but that the congressman was now “persona non grata without a friend in the world.” Turley raised the prospect of disbarment.

“If these rape and sexual harassment claims are established, he is likely to face disbarment demands,” Turley said on Monday just before Swalwell resigned. “Even his prior boosters at MS NOW and CNN are unlikely to offer him a media deal.”

SWALWELL ACCUSERS DETAIL EXPERIENCES WITH LAWMAKER AFTER HE ANNOUNCES HIS RESIGNATION FROM CONGRESS

Several women have accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct or assault, including a former staff member who alleged, according to CNN, that he had nonconsensual sexual relations with her twice, including one time that left her “bruised and bleeding,” while she was intoxicated. In the latest and most serious development, a Beverly Hills woman named Lonna Drewes accused Swalwell during a press conference of drugging, raping and choking her in a hotel room in 2018.

The latter accusation prompted the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to open a criminal investigation, which follows the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office also announcing a criminal investigation into the claims. FBI Director Kash Patel also signaled Swalwell could have federal exposure, asking the public to provide tips and for the former congressman to meet for an interview.

Sara Azari, a NewsNation analyst who is now representing Swalwell, told the outlet “regret is not rape.”

“The fact that you know a day later or years later or what not, you maybe had shame around what you did, or maybe you were in a relationship and shouldn’t have done what you did, doesn’t make it rape,” Azari said, emphasizing that Swalwell currently only faced allegations and no civil complaints or criminal charges.

If charged and convicted, misdemeanors or felonies involving sexual offenses could lead to disbarment, even if the lawyer is not actively practicing law, according to the professional conduct rules.

Before joining Congress, Swalwell was a law clerk and practiced law as a hate crimes prosecutor for the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.

Fox News Digital reached out to Azari for comment.

A Department of Homeland Security official was killed in Georgia by a naturalized U.S. citizen with a prior criminal record, a case that is raising new questions about the federal government’s vetting process after the agency recently acknowledged significant screening gaps.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed Wednesday that Lauren Bullis, 40, was “brutally shot and stabbed to death,” identifying the suspect as 26-year-old Olaolukitan Adon Abel, who was naturalized in 2022 and has a record that includes convictions for sexual battery, assault and battery against a police officer.

The killing comes shortly after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services disclosed “significant national security and public safety risks” in U.S. vetting processes, describing past screening processes as “wholly inadequate” under former President Joe Biden.

Mullin said DHS is “devastated” by Bullis’ killing. The agency also said she “was a bright spot for so many of the DHS community.”

DHS SLAMS CALIFORNIA ‘SANCTUARY’ COUNTY AFTER MOM ALLEGEDLY MURDERED BY 2 HONDURAN NATIONALS

Bullis was walking her dog when she was attacked, according to DHS. She served in multiple roles at DHS’ Office of the Inspector General, including as an auditor and a team leader in the Office of Innovation.

The agency said Abel was also arrested in connection with the murder of an unidentified woman he reportedly shot outside a Checkers, as well as a homeless man he shot multiple times outside a Kroger in Brookhaven, Georgia.

Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and policy expert at the Center for Immigration Studies, said, “This is just the latest impact of the Biden administration’s immigration policies.”

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Arthur, who served under the Bush and Obama administrations, said the case raises concerns about whether existing safeguards were properly applied during the naturalization process.

“There were plainly steps that were missed when this person was naturalized,” he said, adding that recent agency findings suggest broader vulnerabilities in the system.

IGNORED ICE DETAINERS ‘PUT LIVES AT RISK,’ DHS SAYS, TARGETING NEWSOM, PRITZKER, HEALEY

It is not yet clear from publicly available information how Abel’s prior convictions factored into his naturalization review or whether they should have disqualified him under existing standards.

USCIS announced the creation of a new vetting center in December that DHS said would “enhance screening and vetting of immigration applications, with a focus on identifying terrorists, criminal aliens, and other threats to public safety.” The agency said the center would leverage advanced technologies and work closely with law enforcement and intelligence partners to uphold the integrity of the U.S. immigration system.

MAJOR NATIONAL SECURITY VULNERABILITY EXPOSED AS DHS REVEALS HOW RELATIVES OF TERROR ARCHITECT ALLOWED INTO US

The month before, USCIS also restored the practice of conducting neighborhood investigations of potential new citizens to verify aliens’ eligibility for naturalization by reviewing their residency, moral character, loyalty to the U.S. Constitution, and commitment to the nation’s well-being.

Arthur lauded this decision, saying, “That’s never been a priority, because of the numbers that we talk about, about 800,000 people naturalize every year.”

“This is a huge number of people, and we have assumed in the past that a simple fingerprint check and NCIC run will identify individuals who pose a danger to the community before they can be naturalized. We now know that that’s not true.”

He cautioned that though “the numbers are big, and we want to encourage people who are green card holders to become citizens,” the U.S. must continue to “invest resources in order to ensure that we don’t confer citizenship on anybody who poses a danger to the United States going forward.”

Fox News Digital reached out to a spokesperson for Biden for comment.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is blaming President Donald Trump as Americans feel pain at the pump amid high fuel prices.

“Here in North Carolina and around the country, gas prices are too high,” Harris wrote in a post on X. “This is a direct result of Donald Trump’s war of choice in Iran, and the American people are paying the price.”

The post features a video of Harris delivering remarks while standing outside in front of a sign displaying fuel prices.

DEMOCRATS POUNCE ON $4 A GALLON GAS, BLAME TRUMP’S IRAN WAR FOR ‘BROKEN PROMISE’

“We’ve got a president who is paying more attention to what he thinks is in his best political interests and personal interests, as opposed to what is in the best interest of working people in America,” Harris declares at the end of the brief video.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Thursday.

BESSENT WARNS GAS STATIONS THAT TREASURY DEPT WILL KEEP THEM ‘HONEST’ AFTER SPIKE IN PRICES

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah shared Harris’ post on Wednesday and wrote, “The Biden-Harris administration did everything it could to chill the production and use of gasoline and diesel Don’t tell us you’re on the side of the consumer here.”

The AAA national average for regular gas is $4.093 as of April 16, 2026.

The highest recorded average price for regular was $5.016 back on June 14, 2022 during President Joe Biden‘s White House tenure, when Harris was still serving as vice president.

KAMALA HARRIS DROPS BIGGEST HINT YET ON 2028 WHITE HOUSE RUN

Trump defeated Harris in the 2024 presidential election. When asked last week by Al Sharpton if she will run again in 2028, Harris said, “I might,” noting, “I am thinkin’ about it.”

Weeks after now-former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., invited an Epstein survivor to attend the State of the Union earlier this year in an attempt to highlight victims of sexual abuse, his political career collapsed after multiple women accused him of sexual assault.

“Like every American, I want the President to do his job. I have always attended the State of the Union, and I will again tonight. I invited Teresa Helm as my guest because she has been waiting for justice for more than two decades,” Swalwell said in a press release, referring to Teresa Helm, his guest.

“Teresa’s bravery exposed the Epstein cover-up. The President owes her — and all survivors — answers,” Swalwell added.

Weeks later, Swalwell would ultimately suspend his gubernatorial campaign and resign his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives over women who exposed his own improprieties.

SWALWELL ACCUSERS DETAIL EXPERIENCES WITH LAWMAKER AFTER HE ANNOUNCES HIS RESIGNATION FROM CONGRESS

Bombshell reporting from CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle last Friday recounted allegations from several women, providing detailed accounts of how Swalwell had pursued intoxicated women, pressured employees into intimate situations and asked for explicit images from female contacts.

Swalwell’s office did not respond to requests for inquiries from Fox News Digital.

Helm serves as Survivor Services Coordinator at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) where she partners with survivors of abuse to hold corporations and individuals who profited from and facilitated their exploitation accountable.

KASH PATEL TAUNTS SWALWELL WITH FBI SIT-DOWN AS RESIGNATION FALLOUT GROWS

Helm, a survivor of Epstein’s sex trafficking, had urged lawmakers to release the Epstein files in the lead up to the 2026 State of the Union Address.

“At the heart of this matter is HUMAN DIGNITY and JUSTICE FOR ALL,” Helm said in a press release ahead of the State of the Union.

Epstein, a financier with a prolific social circle, rubbed shoulders with the rich and powerful, including figures like Bill Gates, former President Bill Clinton, President Donald Trump, Billionaire Les Wexner and the United Kingdom’s Prince Andrew.

Epstein died while incarcerated in 2019 on charges of sex-trafficking minors, leaving behind questions of whether he used his wide-ranging contacts to facilitate illegal sexual encounters.

Swalwell, like a wide range of lawmakers from both parties, had urged the DOJ to publicly release documentation on its investigation of Epstein, arguing for public accountability on the matter.

Helm echoed those calls.

SWALWELL’S ‘BEST FRIEND’ IN CONGRESS TURNS ON HIM AFTER BOMBSHELL ALLEGATIONS TORPEDO HIS POLITICAL CAREER

“It is crucial to join forces, lead by example and continue lighting the way for generations to come. To me, it is both an assignment and an honor to be a guest here today at the 2026 State of the Union Address,” Helm said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Helm for comment.

After leading the effort to force the resignation of former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., one House Republican has her sights set on another target.

“I’m very confident that the votes to expel Sheila [Cherfilus-McCormick] are there,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital in an interview, referring to Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla, who could face an expulsion vote as early as next week.

It takes a two-thirds majority to expel a member of Congress, and Luna said she has been contacted privately by both Republicans and Democrats who plan to vote to remove the embattled Florida Democrat.

“Democrats have voiced their frustrations with her and have stated that they will vote to expel her as well,” Luna said.

SWALWELL ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION FROM CONGRESS AFTER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS TORPEDOED GUBERNATORIAL BID

House Democratic leadership has not yet weighed in on Cherfilus-McCormick’s fate, but a growing number of the Democratic caucus, from moderates to progressives, have backed her ouster.

The momentum for expulsion comes after a House ethics subcommittee found Cherfilus-McCormick guilty of more than two dozen ethics violations in March, including allegations related to stealing millions of disaster relief funds to finance her congressional run. She is also facing a separate federal criminal indictment that could result in more than 53 years in prison if convicted.

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., is expected to introduce a resolution to expel Cherfilus-McCormick after the House Ethics Committee issues its recommended sanction next week.

Still, Cherfilus-McCormick told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that she would not resign despite the threat of removal. 

“This is not the time to abandon the district, not when they too are fighting for their future,” said Cherfilus-McCormick, who is running for reelection.

Not every lawmaker, however, has been willing to risk the prospect of expulsion, which has only happened a handful of times in U.S. history.

Luna on Tuesday threatened to introduce a motion expelling Swalwell if he did not resign. Swalwell ultimately chose to quit on his own terms rather than face a rare chamber-wide expulsion vote. 

“I was ready to make that expulsion. I had it ready to go,” Luna said. “And then his office contacted my office and let me know that his resignation would be coming in a few minutes before the deadline was for the expulsion [motion].”

Five women, including one former staffer, have so far accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct and rape. The California Democrat has denied any criminal wrongdoing and his attorney has vowed to vigorously contest the allegations.

ERIC SWALWELL WAS CABLE NEWS STAR FOR YEARS BEFORE RAPID FALL FROM GRACE

Members of Congress have traditionally been reluctant to pursue expulsion against colleagues who have not been criminally charged or found by the House Ethics Committee to have committed misconduct, but Luna argued that the serious allegations against Swalwell required a more aggressive approach. 

“His resignation, obviously, was something that had to be done,” Luna said. “It was non-negotiable.”

Luna also sharply criticized an atmosphere on Capitol Hill that she argued turned a blind eye to Swalwell’s alleged misconduct.

“From what we were hearing on the Hill, this was behavior that was known about for a while. But no one came forward to officially report it,” Luna said, calling the silence “disturbing.”

Luna predicted that additional sexual misconduct allegations would be made against Swalwell and said she turned over unreported information about Swalwell’s conduct to the FBI.

She also supported the expulsion of former Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who resigned from the House on Tuesday to fend off a looming removal vote.

“I guess I took it on myself to act specifically in these cases because I got really frustrated. I’m up here to serve my constituents,” Luna said. “There’s a lot of people that are up here to do good on behalf of their districts, to actually make real change.”

“And when you are associated with and you accept people’s behavior that is unethical and immoral and illegal, it’s a poor reflection, not just on the institution, but it also taints the waters for everyone that serves with these people,” she continued.