In today’s edition … Is Trump engaging in a religious war? … but first …
Let’s do some math
Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Eric Swalwell (D-California), both facing allegations of sexual misconduct, announced yesterday that they would leave office. The announcements came after numerous members had called for their expulsion — a seldom-used move in a chamber that generally likes to protect its own.
We’ve written in the past about how formal censures and reprimands are increasingly de rigueur in the chamber as partisanship leads to greater weaponization of the House’s rules. But expulsions remain exceedingly rare.
That made the past few days extraordinary. Gonzales and Swalwell faced calls from members of their own parties to be removed from office, with members planning to submit motions to push them out today. Neither member said exactly when their resignations would take effect, so they are still likely to face expulsion measures when the House returns this afternoon.
They aren’t the only ones who could face such measures soon. Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Florida) and Cory Mills (R-Florida) are facing investigations by the House Ethics Committee related to alleged financial malfeasance. Both have also faced calls for their expulsion.
Only six members have ever been kicked out of the House, the most recent being George Santos in 2023. Before him were James Traficant in 2002 and Michael Myers in 1980. Other than them, three members were expelled in 1861 for supporting the Confederacy. That’s it.
There are a few reasons why pushing out members is so rare. First, expulsion is one of the few procedures that require a two-thirds supermajority in the House (along with overriding presidential vetoes and proposing constitutional amendments).
The House is currently split 217 Republicans to 214 Democrats with three vacancies and one Republican-turned-independent (Kevin Kiley from California). One of the vacancies, from the departure of Marjorie Taylor Greene, was filled last week by Republican Clay Fuller, who will be sworn in when the House comes back today. Swalwell said he wouldn’t leave office for a few days to ensure continuity for constituent services, and it’s not yet clear when Gonzales’s departure will take effect.
With those numbers, 70 Democrats would have to vote with all Republicans or 75 Republicans would have to vote with all Democrats to expel a member (assuming Kiley votes with Republicans in either case). Even with the bipartisan wave calling for expulsions this week, getting more than 70 defections is a tall order without leadership explicitly calling for it. Both Republican and Democratic leadership have stopped short of calling for the members’ immediate expulsion, though they previously demanded Gonzales and Swalwell not run for election again.
Which brings us to another point: Republicans have a truly minuscule majority right now. House Speaker Mike Johnson can afford only two defections on votes to maintain his majority after Fuller is sworn in, assuming Kiley votes Republican, and one of those slots is already often taken by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky).
This is not a Republican conference that sings Kumbaya on every issue. Intra-party tension is real on topics ranging from immigration to surveillance to funding the Department of Homeland Security. Dipping into Democrats for votes is a no-no — that last speaker, Kevin McCarthy, did that to avoid a government shutdown, and Republicans subsequently booted him from office. Johnson needs to preserve every Republican he can.
That’s especially the case as Republicans try to find a path forward on funding federal immigration enforcement and DHS, which they plan to do this year by party-line vote.
The slim majority was a major point when President Donald Trump was filling out his administration — a number of House Republicans who had raised their hands on the campaign with hopes to serve in the administration were told to stay in the House. Republicans simply could not sacrifice their majority, they were told. Just look at the case of one Elise Stefanik.
The allegations against Gonzales and Mills have been public for weeks, and Johnson has repeatedly demurred on calls to expel them. He has said members deserve a right to due process while under investigation. The House waited until the Ethics Committee compiled its report on Santos before expelling him the following month, though several members called for his ouster before the report.
Democrats have acted similarly. When Rep. Henry Cuellar was indicted on charges of bribery and illegally working as a foreign agent, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries maintained his endorsement of the congressman while the Ethics Committee investigated his case. Cuellar represented a conservative-leaning South Texas district that had previously been a top Republican flip target. Cuellar was never convicted and denied any wrongdoing. Trump pardoned him late last year.
But the sordidness of the allegations against Swalwell breathed new life into an expulsion push. Swalwell was accused by multiple women of sexual assault and harassment. He has denied the allegations, even after resigning from office and suspending his run for California governor. A bipartisan chorus of members was calling for him to be pushed out in tandem with Gonzales, who had sexual relations with a staffer.
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-New Mexico), who was leading a call to expel Gonzales, said he doesn’t need a completed Ethics investigation because he admitted to the sexual relationship, which is banned by House rules.
“It is outrageous that [Johnson] has failed to take action, because it’s been over six weeks since Tony Gonzales admitted to the affair — six weeks in which Speaker Johnson has done nothing to hold Rep. Gonzales accountable for what he admitted to,” Leger Fernandez said. “We don’t need any more evidence than that. He admitted to it.”
Leger Fernandez also said the public reporting against Swalwell was evidence enough for his expulsion. She said the Ethics Committee was valuable in providing guidance to members, but ultimately, it was members’ responsibility to decide who can stay and who can go.
“This is not a criminal process. This is a process about what standards do we hold ourselves to,” she said.
Leger Fernandez told us she is still introducing a privileged resolution today or tomorrow to expel Gonzales unless he announces his resignation is effective immediately. Under the rules of the House, the chamber will have to vote on it within two days. She had been planning to introduce the resolution in tandem with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida), who was preparing an expulsion resolution for Swalwell.
“We have successfully drained part of the swamp this week with the resignation of two very corrupt members of Congress. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Luna posted on X after Gonzales and Swalwell said they would leave office.
Numerous other members have joined the chorus. Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-New York) demanded all four members under Ethics investigation get the boot. Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nevada) led a letter with 14 other Democrats in competitive seats urging Johnson and Jeffries to expedite investigations and take action on the members, though the letter did not call for expulsion.
There’s another reason there have been so few expulsions in the House’s history.
“We haven’t had this kind of vote on sexual abuse because most of the times, the representatives resign, right?” Leger Fernandez said. “And that’s the right thing to do.”
Get ready with The Post
- How Trump’s ultimatum on DEI divided a Texas city, from Hannah Knowles.
- Peace with Iran hinges on one side bowing to the other’s nuclear demands, from Karen DeYoung.
- Trump officials consider physician, a Fox News regular, for top vaccine post, from Rachel Roubein and Dan Diamond.
- White House says it’s boosting affordability through physician reforms, from Dan Diamond.
- Orban’s defeat marks a major loss for Trump’s foreign ambitions, from Michael Birnbaum.
- Mamdani says New York will have a city-run grocery store in every borough, from Tim Craig.
- Judge dismisses Trump’s lawsuit against Wall Street Journal over Epstein drawing, from Scott Nover.
What we’re watching
Trump and his allies regularly invoke Christianity in their work and campaign messaging. Did Trump blow it all up?
The president went on a tirade against Pope Leo XIV over the weekend and posted an AI-generated image of himself online posing as Jesus. Both received swift condemnation from Catholics and Evangelicals, including those who have supported him in the past.
“I don’t know if the President thought he was being funny or if he is under the influence of some substance or what possible explanation he could have for this OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy,” wrote Megan Basham, a conservative Protestant commentator. “But he needs to take this down immediately and ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God.”
Trump has some of his most consistent support among Evangelical voters, and he has made considerable inroads with Catholics, particularly social conservatives. His latest remarks risk alienating the religious base Republicans have come to rely on.
In his message about the pope, Trump called the pontiff “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” over his objections to Trump’s war in Iran and military operation in Venezuela. The president claimed Leo was elected to the papacy only because the Vatican wanted to smooth relations with the White House by having an American pope. It was an unprecedented attack on a pope by a sitting president.
Leo responded to reporters that he has “no fear” of the Trump administration and that “I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.”
Trump later took down the AI-generated image and claimed he thought it depicted him as a doctor. He said “only the fake news” would suggest it depicts him as Jesus.
Read more fromAnthony Faiola and Karen Tumulty.
The Post abroad
- U.S. imposes naval blockade as Trump demands Iran end nuclear program, from Steve Hendrix and Susannah George.
- E.U. revels in defeat of Hungary’s Orban, Trump ally who defied Brussels, from Ellen Francis.
- How geography powers Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, despite U.S. blockade, from Júlia Ledur and Dylan Moriarty.
- Fugitive Bolsonaro ally, convicted in 2022 coup attempt, is detained by ICE, from Marina Dias.
- Hungary’s opposition cheers Orban’s fall but faces challenging transition, from Mary Ilyushina.
In your local paper
Times-Picayune (Louisiana): A state law could require drivers to take a “driver’s knowledge” test every six years. Backers of the law say it would keep drivers safer and insurance rates down. But lawmakers from both parties are criticizing it as too cumbersome.
Oil City News (Wyoming): An unusually warm winter and small snowpack threatens dropping Lake Powell’s water line to historic lows, risking Wyoming’s electricity generation at the Glen Canyon Dam.
CalMatters (California): While the Democratic field in the California governor race is in disarray, Republicans have failed to rally behind a single candidate. Despite Trump’s support for businessman Steve Hilton, no candidate secured the GOP’s endorsement over the weekend, putting into question the weight of the president’s preferences in the state.
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