Politics

By Steve Gorman and Helen Coster

LOS ANGELES, April 14 (Reuters) – A second woman came forward to accuse Eric Swalwell of rape on Tuesday as the California Democrat and would-be governor resigned his seat in Congress, leaving him the subject of sexual assault investigations by law enforcement on both U.S. coasts.

Former Beverly Hills model and software entrepreneur Lonna Drewes is also the fifth woman to accuse Swalwell of sexual misconduct in recent days, deepening a scandal that prompted him to announce his resignation from the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday.

His resignation became effective on Tuesday afternoon, two days after he bowed out of the California governor’s race, in which he had been a leading candidate, as political support and endorsements rapidly eroded.

The 45-year-old politician, who is married with three children, “categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him,” according to a statement issued by his attorney.

The statement described the allegations as politically motivated fabrications.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it was investigating a sexual assault allegation against Swalwell, stemming from a July 2018 incident at a West Hollywood place of business. It did not name the alleged victim or give further details.

But the statement came several hours after Drewes appeared at a news conference with her attorneys in Beverly Hills to accuse Swalwell of assaulting her in 2018.

‘ALREADY INCAPACITATED’

Drewes tearfully described an alleged encounter with Swalwell in which she said the lawmaker had spiked her glass of wine with an intoxicant that left her immobilized, then “he raped me.”

She said the assault occurred after she had accompanied Swalwell to his hotel room, ostensibly so he could retrieve some paperwork on their way to a political event together, and that she was “already incapacitated” by the time they reached his room.

“I couldn’t move my arms or my body,” she told reporters, adding that at one point during the assault, Swalwell choked her, and that she lost consciousness.

“I thought I had died,” Drewes said, adding, “I did not consent to any sexual activity.”

Drewes recounted that she and Swalwell had met socially some time before, that she had joined him at two previous public events at his invitation, and that he had “offered me connections to further my software company.”

“I knew he was married at the time, and that his wife was pregnant. He was my friend,” said Drewes, who recalled that she was then considering a run for City Council.

Drewes said her delay in going public “was driven by fear” of Swalwell’s “political power.”

FOUR PREVIOUS ACCUSERS

Swalwell ​ended his campaign on Sunday shortly after The San Francisco Chronicle and CNN reported that a woman who previously worked in his district office had accused him of two nonconsensual sexual encounters.

The woman told CNN that Swalwell raped her during a 2024 encounter, after she had left his staff, in ​a New York City hotel.

The former aide, whom the Chronicle and CNN did not name, was quoted as saying she had been too ​intoxicated on both occasions to consent. The Manhattan district attorney’s office on Saturday confirmed it was investigating the case.

CNN also ​reported that three other women leveled sexual misconduct allegations against Swalwell, including accusations that he had sent them explicit text messages and unsolicited photos of his genitals.

Swalwell, who was first elected to Congress in 2012 and was a frequent voice for his party on cable news programs, apologized on social media on Monday for “mistakes in judgments I’ve made in my past” and vowed to fight “the serious, false allegation” against him. 

The statement by Swalwell’s lawyer, Sara Azari, described the allegations against her client as a “calculated and transparent political hit job.”

Swalwell’s departure leaves a crowded and fragmented Democratic field of low-polling contenders led by billionaire Tom Steyer and former Representative Katie Porter, all vying to succeed Gavin Newsom, who is nearing the end of his second four-year term and barred by term limits from running again.

No Republican has won a statewide election in California since 2006. But Swalwell’s departure is seen as possibly providing an unexpected opening for two Republican candidates, including Steve Hilton, endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump, to advance to the general election in California’s non-partisan top-two primary race in June.

Newsom on Tuesday set a special election for August 18 to temporarily fill Swalwell’s House seat in the San Francisco Bay area.

(Reporting by Helen Coster in New York; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; editing by Donna Bryson, Alistair Bell, Shri Navaratnam and Edwina Gibbs)

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By Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt

April 14 (Reuters) – Erika Kirk, widow of slain activist Charlie Kirk, withdrew on Tuesday from a Turning Point USA event featuring U.S. Vice President JD Vance due to threats on her life, the vice president said.

“I know that she did get some threats,” Vance told an audience of University of Georgia students in Athens, Georgia. “I was a little worried that we were going to have to cancel the event because Erika was not going to come, and she was very worried about it.”

Vance said he had talked to the Secret Service and was not concerned about his own safety. He gave no details about the threats to Erika Kirk, who is the CEO of Turning Point USA.

The Secret Service and Turning Point did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A gunman, who faces murder charges, killed Charlie Kirk in September during a campus speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Authorities describe the shooting as politically motivated. Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA to galvanize young voters for conservative causes. 

The killing intensified debate over political violence in the United States, prompting condemnation from officials across the political spectrum and leading to increased security at subsequent campus events involving high-profile political figures.

(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Ross Colvin and Lisa Shumaker)

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Even before Virginia voters decide on a new congressional map, Democrats are piling in to run for districts proposed under a redistricting plan that is designed to give their party a near sweep of the state’s U.S. House seats.

The latest entrant is Olivia Troye, who was an aide to former Republican Vice President Mike Pence and has become a vocal critic of President Donald Trump. She announced Tuesday that she’ll run in Virginia’s newly created 7th Congressional District, joining an already crowded field.

Voters will decide April 21 whether to adopt a Democratic-drawn congressional map that could help the party win four more U.S. House seats, a rare and enticing prospect for ambitious Democrats.

“I just feel like we need people that are going to stand up and fight,” Troye said. “And I’m not seeing that right now, across the Democratic and Republican parties.”

The proposed district where Troye wants to run was designed to be an easy general election win for Democrats, taking in territory that is now part of six different districts.

About a half-dozen Democrats have announced plans to run in the district if voters approve the new boundaries. They include Dorothy McAuliffe, Virginia’s former first lady, and former federal prosecutor J.P. Cooney, who served as a deputy to special counsel Jack Smith and was fired by Trump.

The sprawling district would have a population center in the heavily Democratic northern Virginia suburbs of Washington and would stretch deep into rural areas that favor Republicans.

Crowded primaries also are shaping up in some of the other newly formed districts, though the 7th District has an unusually deep stable of prominent candidates.

Virginia is the latest state to push a partisan redistricting plan beforethe 2026 midterms, when Democrats are looking to gain the House majority and the power it would give them to stymie Trump’s agenda.

Virginia’s map aims to give Democrats the edge in 10 of the state’s 11 U.S. House districts, replacing the current map that elected a congressional delegation with six Democrats and five Republicans.

Trump instigated a redistricting arms race last year when he pressed Texas Republicans to adopt new boundaries aimed at giving Republicans as many as five new House seats there. California voters responded with a plan favoring Democrats. Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have adopted Republican-friendly maps.

Democrats in Maryland this week rejected a plan to adopt a map favoring their party, while Florida Republicans are pressing ahead with their own redistricting plan.

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By Howard Schneider and Michael S. Derby

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) – Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor chosen by President Donald Trump to lead the central bank, has submitted financial disclosures indicating he holds assets worth well over $100 million, putting him on track to be the wealthiest central bank leader ever if confirmed. 

It is difficult to estimate net worth from U.S. government ethics forms because assets are valued in broad and sometimes open-ended categories. Warsh’s filing, made public early Tuesday, also includes a notable number of gaps and pledges to divest assets if confirmed.

That said, the form gives an extensive accounting of the prospective Fed leader’s personal wealth. The 69-page disclosure includes two investments worth more than $50 million each in the Juggernaut Fund LP and $10.2 million in consulting fees from the investment office of Wall Street giant Stanley Druckenmiller.

The Juggernaut Fund investments, for example, come with the caveat that the underlying assets “are not disclosed due to pre-existing confidentiality agreements,” with a promise from Warsh that “I will divest this asset if confirmed.”

Warsh’s financial disclosures will almost certainly be a focus of his upcoming confirmation hearing next week, ahead of the end of current Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s leadership term next month. 

Federal Reserve ethics rules formalized in 2022 sharply limit what Fed officials and their immediate families can hold and how they can manage their investments. Those rules prevent ownership of bank stocks and crypto-related investments among other restrictions, and limit how Fed officials can buy and sell holdings, for example. 

The central bank ethics rules, which are set by the Federal Open Market Committee, are more stringent than those of the rest of the government.

Warsh’s large-scale investments are among a series of holdings, including around two dozen in THSDFS LLC, some individually worth as much as $5 million, where details were withheld and which Warsh also pledged to divest if confirmed.

OGE analyst Heather Jones, who signed off on Warsh’s document, noted those commitments in her review and said that “once the filer divests these assets, he will be in compliance” with the Ethics in Government Act.

The document lists dozens of other assets without stating the value, mostly focused, judging by the names, in artificial intelligence and crypto, among other sectors. Those holdings include Cafe X, described as a robotic coffee bar platform; a “bionic movement-enhancing wearable clothing” firm called Cionic; Blast, notated as “yield-generating Ethereum layer two,”; and Contraline, a “reversible male contraceptive solution.”

The holdings of Warsh’s spouse, Jane Lauder, whose family interests include the Estee Lauder cosmetics company and who Forbes estimates has a net worth of around $1.9 billion, were also included. Some of Lauder’s municipal bond holdings were valued simply at “over $1 million.”

Warsh’s liabilities appear comparatively limited, including a 2015 mortgage of up to $5 million from JP Morgan Chase at 2.75%, a revolving line of credit of up to $5 million from PNC Bank listed at a rate of around 6%, and capital commitments of $1,950,000 to THSDFS LLC, one of the interests he has promised to divest.

MOVING FORWARD

The filing of Warsh’s paperwork with the ethics office is a key step in his expected confirmation to succeed Powell. 

The potential Fed leader’s wealth, which appears to significantly exceed that of Powell, points to a potentially challenging vetting process for legislators. Warsh’s financial position also stands in sharp relief to that of most Americans and more closely aligns with the substantial wealth held by top Trump officials like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

“Warsh is wealthy and well connected” and “the disclosure is a snapshot into how wealth and connections build greater wealth and connections,” said Kathryn Judge, a professor at Columbia Law School. 

She added, “perhaps most striking were the many arrangements that were not fully disclosed because of pre-existing confidentiality agreements,” adding “when those disclosures leave questions unanswered, the Senate can and should use the hearings to get the information it needs to make that determination.” 

Mark Spindel, chief investment officer at Potomac River Capital, said Warsh “has distinguished himself in financial services” and the disclosures offer “a comprehensive look at someone who’s been…highly successful in merchandising his intellectual properties.” He added “he’s clearly leaned into crypto a bit”, which is emblematic of shifts in the financial system under the Trump administration.

Committee rules require five business days’ notice to schedule a hearing once the needed paperwork is in hand. On Tuesday, Punchbowl reported Warsh’s confirmation hearing will be held on April 21. Even once the hearing is scheduled, it is unclear how quickly Warsh could be confirmed by the full Senate.

What’s more, a key Republican lawmaker has vowed to block confirmation until the conclusion of a Department of Justice investigation into Powell for his oversight of renovations to the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. There is little indication of progress on that matter.

Though a federal judge quashed the DOJ’s subpoenas, finding the probe to be a thinly disguised effort to pressure Powell to lower interest rates or resign, the department has said it will appeal, likely delaying any chance Warsh has to be confirmed before Powell’s chair term ends on May 15.

Powell has said he will stay on on a “pro tem” basis if Warsh is not confirmed and in place by that time. Powell also holds a governor slot he can stay in until 2028 if he chooses.

(Reporting by Howard Schneider and Michael S. Derby; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Kirsten Donovan and Hugh Lawson)

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A major U.S. Postal Service union is launching a national TV ad campaign promoting voting by mail, stepping into a politically charged debate as skepticism about mail-in ballots has been raised by President Donald Trump and others.

The 30-second message features a variety of voters, among them a busy farmer and a flight attendant, explaining why they cast their ballots by mail. Sponsored by the 200,000-member American Postal Workers Union, the advertising campaign announced Tuesday will begin airing this week in Ohio, where Union Army soldiers during the Civil War cast the first mail ballots in 1864. It will then move to other states.

The ad ends with the message: “Vote by mail — keep it, protect it, expand it.” It comes two weeks after Trump signed an executive order that seeks to create a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and subsequently bar postal workers from sending absentee ballots to those who are not on each state’s approved list.

The order was met swiftly with lawsuits and opposition from postal workers. The National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association said USPS is “not equipped or authorized to decide who is or is not entitled to vote” and pushing it into such a role “risks politicizing one of the nation’s most trusted public institutions.” The union also said it threatens confidence in the mail and in elections.

Messages were left seeking comment from the White House and the Postal Service.

Jonathan Smith, president of American Postal Workers, said his union’s TV ad was produced before Trump’s executive order was issued, not in response to it. An executive order on elections that Trump signed last year also targeted mail ballots by seeking to require they be returned by Election Day, even though more than a dozen states allow a grace period.

Smith said the union wants to encourage people to continue voting by mail. But he expressed concern about the potential ramifications of requiring postal workers to determine who should receive an absentee ballot and who should not.

“It is our position that it is not the job of the postal workers to verify voter eligibility,” he said. “It is our job to move mail from one destination to the next. He added: “We do not want to be politicized.”

Trump’s latest election executive order is already facing lawsuits by various groups, including Democrats in Washington who argue that the Constitution empowers states and Congress, not the president, to set election rules.

Trump, who as recently as last month voted by mail, has publicly bashed mail voting as a source of fraud and is pushing Congress to curtail it through sweeping legislation. Mail voting has existed for more than a century and had steadily been increasing in popularity in both Democratic- and Republican-led states until 2020, when Trump started to target the method, levying baseless claims of mass fraud. It has now becomes less popular among Republicans.

A report by the Brookings Institution published in 2025 found that cases of mail voting fraud occurred in only a tiny fraction of total mail ballots cast — about four cases out of every 10 million mail ballots.

The TV ad is intended to be a direct message to voters, not the president.

“Our message is to America: Vote by mail is efficient, it’s safe, and it’s successful. Period,” Smith said. “This is educating the American people that you can use vote by mail and you can be guaranteed that your voice will be heard and your vote will be counted.”

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Here is the latest:

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said Tuesday that her government has suspended the automatic renewal of a defense agreement with Israel, citing “the current situation.”

Meloni and other Italian government officials have strongly condemned Israel’s air and bombing campaign in Lebanon, which has hit civilians as well as an Italian convoy that is part of a U.N. peacekeeping force. The agreement, ratified in 2005, includes ongoing cooperation between the two countries’ defense ministries and armed forces. It is automatically renewed every five years.

The Iran war has stalled the world’s economic momentum, the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday as it downgraded its forecast for global growth to 3.1% in 2026, an expected deceleration from last year’s 3.4% expansion.

U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran — and Tehran’s closing of the Strait of Hormuz and retaliatory strikes on oil refineries and other energy infrastructure in neighboring countries — have driven oil and gas prices sharply higher around the world. As a result, the IMF marked up its expectation for global inflation to 4.4% from 4.1% in 2025.

Massive investment in data centers and artificial intelligence, and rising productivity combined to strengthen economic numbers, but “War in the Middle East has halted this momentum,’′ IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas wrote in a blog post accompanying the fund’s latest World Economic Outlook.

The IMF’s forecast assumes the war ends soon and energy prices rise “a moderate 19%″ this year. Things could be much worse.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar is floating the idea of cooperation with the Lebanese government to dismantle Hezbollah.

“Hezbollah has also its financial roots, there are a lot of dimensions holding this organization, practically keeping Lebanon under Iranian occupation,” Saar said Tuesday, adding that the Lebanese government itself views the Iran-backed militant group as “unlawful.”

Israel and Lebanon are set to begin their first direct talks in decades Tuesday, with large gaps in what each side wants from the negotiations.

Lebanese officials want a ceasefire, while Israeli officials have said they are not interested in a ceasefire but want the talks to focus on disarming Hezbollah as an essential step toward a potential peace deal between the two countries.

Hezbollah militant group renewed its war with Israel on Mar. 2, when it fired missiles into northern Israel. About 2,088 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since then, according to figures from Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

More than 17,000 American and Filipino military personnel will participate in one of their largest annual combat exercises in the Philippines, aiming to show the United States’ staunch commitment to Asia despite its preoccupation with the Middle East, a U.S. military official said Tuesday.

“Our message is our dedication and commitment to our alliance and regional security,” Col. Robert Bunn, a spokesperson for U.S. forces, said when asked what message the U.S. military wants to send with its large deployment despite the war in the Middle East.

French President Emmanuel Macron urged for the resumption of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran as he had phone calls with President Donald Trump and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian.

“It is essential, in particular, that the ceasefire be strictly respected by all parties and that it include Lebanon,” Macron said in a post on X Tuesday.

He also called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz “without restrictions or tolls.”

Macron stressed France and the U.K. will also host a conference in Paris this Friday, bringing together by videoconference non-belligerent countries ready to contribute to a mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the strait when security conditions allow.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — rose 0.5% from February and 4% from March 2025. The year-over-year gains was the biggest in more than three years. Energy prices surged 8.5% from February.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core producer prices rose a modest 0.1% from February and 3.8% from a year earlier. The gains in wholesale prices were smaller than economists had forecast.

The war in Iran will lead to an annual decline in oil demand for the first time since the pandemic, when billions of people were trying to live in isolation, according to the International Energy Agency.

The agency, formed after the 1974 oil crisis, said Tuesday that oil demand is expected to decrease by an average of 80,000 barrels a day this year, a sharp revision from the increase of 850,000 barrels a day that it had forecast before the war began.

The drop-off in March was particularly severe because of attacks on energy infrastructure and the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the IEA, which expects a decline in demand of 1.5 million barrels in the current quarter.

While the biggest cuts in oil usage have initially come from the Middle East and Asia Pacific region, demand destruction is anticipated to spread as oil prices increase and scarcity continues.

South Korea says it provided $2 million in humanitarian assistance to Lebanon through international organizations and has also decided to provide $500,000 in aid to Iran through the International Red Cross.

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it hopes the aid will help ease the humanitarian crisis in affected regions

The Red Cross delivered its first emergency aid shipment to Iran since the war began over a month ago, which is expected to meet the needs of nearly 25,000 people.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement Tuesday that it dispatched assistance to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, or IRCS, including five truckloads delivered Monday.

Supplies included blankets, jerrycans, tarpaulins, hygiene kits and solar lamps. The remaining aid shipment, comprised of nine aid trucks, will be given to IRCS later this week.

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair a conference Friday in Paris, bringing together non-belligerent nations willing to participate in a mission in the Strait of Hormuz “when security conditions allow.”

Other participants will take part via videoconference, Macron’s office said. European and other partners are ready to contribute to a “purely defensive mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said.

France and Britain have been working in recent weeks to set up an operation to escort oil tankers and container ships to help ensure safe passage through the strait.

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Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell announced this week that he’s leaving Congress and the crowded contest for California governor following sexual assault allegations, which he denies, and a swift exodus of his supporters.

Days ago, the 45-year-old congressman was among a group of leading Democrats in the race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, who cannot seek a third term at the helm of the nation’s most populous state.

Swalwell’s campaign unraveled within about 48 hours after the San Francisco Chronicle reported allegations that he had sexually assaulted a woman twice, including when she worked for him. Later Friday, CNN reported that other women accused him of various forms of sexual misconduct.

He suspended his gubernatorial campaign on Sunday, saying in a social media post, “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”

Former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter and billionaire financier Tom Steyer, a 2020 presidential candidate, are among other top Democrats seeking to snatch up Swalwell’s former backers as the primary approaches with no clear front-runner.

Swalwell said Monday he would leave Congress on his own terms as bipartisan lawmakers pushed for a vote to expel him.

Here’s what is known about the allegations against Swalwell and the possible political implications.

The San Francisco Chronicle interviewed a woman who alleged that Swalwell sexually assaulted her in 2019, when he was her boss, and again in 2024. She said she was too intoxicated to consent to sex in both cases and did not go to police at the time because she was afraid she would not be believed.

CNN reported allegations that appeared to come from the same woman. Neither outlet named her, and her lawyer declined to comment.

CNN also spoke to several other women who accused Swalwell of sending them explicit messages and nude photos.

Swalwell has maintained that the allegations are false. He said Monday it would be unfair to his constituents if he remained in Congress while he’s distracted from his duties.

Swalwell’s exit from the race presents an opening for his former rivals to pick up support ahead of the June 2 primary.

Democrats Steyer and Porter, and two leading Republicans, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News host Steve Hilton, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, are among those vying for just two spots on the November ballot.

Under California’s primary system, only the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.

There are still seven established Democrats on the primary ballot. Newsom has acknowledged fears within the party that those candidates could split the vote, opening a path for a Republican to hold the top office in one of the nation’s most solidly Democratic states.

Swalwell’s departure narrows the field among top Democrats, but it’s too late for his name to be removed from the primary ballot. It’s still possible — though a long shot — that the two leading Republicans could lock out Democrats in November.

Swalwell, a seven-term lawmaker, did not say when he would leave the U.S. House. Once he does, the governor must call a special election in Swalwell’s district “within 14 calendar days of the occurrence of the vacancy,” according to California election law.

His announcement came as the House Ethics Committee said it had begun investigating whether Swalwell engaged in sexual misconduct toward an employee he supervised. The future of the investigation is uncertain, as the committee often stops investigating when lawmakers resign.

Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas also announced Monday that he would retire from Congress after bipartisan calls to expel him. Several lawmakers had suggested expelling both Swalwell and Gonzales in an even trade-off for the parties.

Gonzales had already said he would not seek reelection after admitting to an affair with a staff member who later died by suicide.

Swalwell, who is originally from Iowa, was first elected to Congress in 2012 and represents a House district east of San Francisco.

He launched a presidential bid in April 2019 but dropped out after just a few months.

Swalwell served as a House manager in Trump’s second impeachment trial in early 2021. He also played a role in investigating ties between Trump associates and Russian officials as a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas said Monday he will retire from Congress after bipartisan calls to expel him.

Gonzales had already said he would not seek reelection after admitting to an affair with a staff member who had later died by suicide. His retirement announcement came just hours after Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California said he would be resigning from Congress as he also confronted allegations of sexual misconduct.

House Republican leaders had already called on the three-term Gonzales to not seek reelection as they try to hold on to a strongly Republican district in November’s midterm elections. And the House Ethics Committee had initiated an investigation. Under House ethics rules, lawmakers may not engage in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House under their supervision.

“There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all,” Gonzales said in a social media post. “When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office.”

He said it has been a privilege “to serve the great people of Texas.” He gave no further details on his plans to step down. Previously, he had insisted he would serve out the remainder of his term as the GOP works to hold its slim House majority.

Last month, the top Republican and Democratic members on the House Ethics Committee said in a joint statement that an investigative panel would look into whether Gonzales engaged in sexual misconduct toward an employee in his office and whether he discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.

That announcement came the same day that Gonzales, appearing on the “Joe Pags Show,” was asked if he had a relationship with the aide, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles.

“I made a mistake and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales went on to say he had reconciled with his wife and had asked God to forgive him. He also said he looked forward to the Ethics Committee investigation.

But as lawmakers returned from a two-week break on Monday, there was a growing clamor among members to take a stand against alleged sexual misconduct. Swalwell’s alleged transgressions brought renewed attention to the issue.

Comments from lawmakers on social media suggested some were open to an expulsion trade-off of sorts that would affect each party equally.

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., said both Gonzales and Swalwell “are not fit to serve in Congress given their sexual transgressions against women who work for them.”

“There’s already been a resolution announced to expel Swalwell that I will support. I will introduce a resolution to expel Rep. Gonzales,” Leger Fernandez said.

In a separate post that came after the Texas lawmaker made his retirement announcement, she challenged Gonzales to make it “effective immediately.”

“He has until 2PM tomorrow — when we will file his expulsion,” she said on X.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The stunning collapse of Rep. Eric Swalwell’s California governor campaign has upended the wide-open contest where no Democratic candidate has emerged as a clear frontrunner and mail-in voting is scheduled to start in under a month.

Democrats, who have run the state for years, are publicly agonizing over the possibility they may be shut out of the general election in November. California has an unpredictable top-two primary system that puts all candidates on one ballot, with only the top two vote-getters advancing to November, regardless of party. Despite their party’s dominance in the state, Democrats fear their crowded pool of candidates will divide the party’s vote and allow two Republicans to advance.

The race to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who terms out after this year, has grown messy as candidates argue over debate eligibility and identity politics.

Here’s a look at the prominent candidates:

A Republican county sheriff who was first elected in Riverside County in 2018, Bianco is an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump and his policies. He has more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement.

He recently seized more than half a million ballots cast in a November special election from county election officials, saying he’s investigating a ballot count discrepancy. The effort faces several legal challenges, and the state Supreme Court ordered Bianco to pause it.

Hilton was a conservative commentator with a show on Fox News for six years. He also worked as an adviser to former British prime minister David Cameron.

Trump called him “a truly fine man” and endorsed him last week. The state party declined to endorse a candidate at its convention over the weekend.

Porter is a former congressmember known for brandishing a whiteboard at congressional hearings while grilling CEOs. She was first elected to Congress in 2018 after flipping a Republican-held seat in Orange County. She also made an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate in 2024.

Porter came under fire last year after she threatened to walk out of a TV interview after an awkward and tense back-and-forth with the reporter. She’s also faced criticism for allegations of harsh treatment of staff.

She’s one of only two prominent women in the running. California has never elected a woman to be governor.

A billionaire hedge-fund manager who turned into a liberal activist, Steyer is mostly bankrolling his run for governor. The progressive candidate ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2020.

Recently, Steyer has faced an uptick of questions about his past investments in coal mining and private prisons — now used as detention centers for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Mahan is the San Jose mayor who became a frequent critic of Newsom before jumping in the race in January. He casts himself as a moderate Democrat and has quickly amassed millions of dollars in support from Silicon Valley and other business leaders.

Mahan was first elected as a city councilmember in 2020 and won the mayoral election in 2022. It’s his first time in elected office.

Yee previously served as the state’s controller and as the vice chair of the state Democratic party. As the state’s top financial officer, she was responsible for disbursing state funds, auditing government agencies and serving on more than 70 boards and commissions.

Yee has tried to position herself as a leading progressive, but her campaign has struggled to gain momentum since she announced her bid for governor more than two years ago.

Becerra served as former President Joe Biden’s top health official and oversaw the response to the coronavirus pandemic. He was also the California’s attorney general during Trump’s first term and has more than two decades of experience as a congressmember.

Despite previously winning statewide office, his campaign has gained little traction. His former chief of staff last year was indicted on federal corruption charges for his role in a scheme to steal campaign money from Becerra. Becerra was not accused of any wrongdoings.

Villaraigosa was elected in 2014 as Los Angeles mayor, making him the first Latino politician in that role in more than a century. He also served in the state Legislature, including as the Assembly speaker.

Villaraigosa unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2018 against Newsom and failed to make the general election.

Thurmond has served as the state’s top education official since 2019. He championed efforts to oppose a policy to require school staff to notify parents if their child changes their pronouns or gender identity. He also served in the state Legislature.

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WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump had McDonald’s food delivered to the Oval Office on Monday in a bid to promote his lowering of taxes on tips, and handed the driver what appeared to be a $100 bill when asked if White House staff were good tippers.

Wearing a red “DoorDash Grandma” T-shirt, Sharon Simmons – from Arkansas – knocked on the door carrying two bags of fast food as the media watched. Trump answered and then took questions from reporters on a variety of topics, flanked by Simmons, who said she has saved a substantial amount of money after taxes on tips were scrapped in January. 

With control of Congress up for grabs in November’s midterm elections, Trump aides entered the year hoping to focus on promoting the strength of the U.S. economy. The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran https://www.reuters.com/world/iran/ has stymied those efforts, particularly as surging oil prices have driven fuel costs higher, offsetting the effects https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/what-trump-tax-breaks-giveth-gasoline-pump-taketh-away-2026-04-10/ of cuts to taxes on tips, Social Security retirement payments, overtime pay, car loan interest and state and local tax bills that were part of last year’s Republican-backed tax-cut legislation.

Indeed, last month, DoorDash and other companies whose business models depend on independent delivery drivers rolled out measures to try to cope with rising gas prices.

When a journalist asked Simmons if the White House were good tippers, she said: “Ummm, potentially.”

Trump interjected, “wait,” as he stuck his hand in his pocket and handed her what appeared to be a $100 bill.

“Thank you, you reminded me,” he said. 

When asked about the tip later on Fox News, Simmons said: “He took good care of me.” But she did not disclose how much she was given: “I don’t talk money.”

Simmons also diplomatically batted away questions from Trump in front of reporters. 

Trump asked her: “Do you think that men should play in women’s sports?” To which she replied: “I really don’t have an opinion on that … I’m here about tax on tips.”

He also asked if she voted for him. With a smile, Simmons said: “Ummm, maybe.”

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jonathan Ernst, writing by Michelle Nichols; editing by Scott Malone, Rod Nickel)

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