Eric Swalwell resigned from Congress in disgrace after five women accused him of sexual assault and misconduct.
Now his closest political ally in Congress just got caught at the same party where this whole rot started.
And nobody in Washington wants to talk about what that means.
Jimmy Gomez and the Party Where Swalwell's Clique Got Caught
That ally is Rep. Jimmy Gomez – 51, married, and a Los Angeles Democrat.
The incident happened in August 2023, at a backyard party Eric Swalwell threw at his house near the Capitol to celebrate the start of congressional recess.
Gomez was allegedly spotted kissing an aide who is more than two decades his junior.
She was sitting on the hood of a car down the street.
"They were going at it," one witness told the New York Post.
Not discreetly.
Multiple people leaving the party saw it.
A second source waiting for an Uber said someone pointed it out and it took him a moment to recognize who it was.
"A few of us were getting out of the event and saw them, for lack of better words, making out," this source said.
"Outside behind some cars."
A third source said he heard the same story from three or four other Democrats who claimed to see it with their own eyes.
The aide worked for a different House Democrat – not for Gomez directly – which is why the Ethics Committee won't care.
House rules only prohibit members from pursuing sexual relationships with staffers in their own office.
Someone else's staffer?
The rules say nothing.
Gomez's office called the accounts "not true" and said the makeout session "didn't happen."
The woman declined to comment.
The Cool Kids Clique That Protected Swalwell and Each Other
Swalwell, Gomez, and Democrat Sen. Ruben Gallego were not just colleagues.
They were a clique.
Washington insiders called them the "Cool Kids" – three California and Arizona Democrats known for socializing, drinking, and running in the same circles.
When the Swalwell accusations dropped on April 10, Gomez resigned as co-chair of his gubernatorial campaign and called the allegations "shocking" and "the ugliest and most serious accusations imaginable."
Demanded Swalwell leave the race immediately.
Performed moral clarity like a man with nothing to hide.
Now the New York Post is reporting that Gomez was allegedly at the same house, at the same parties, doing the same things – and the clique kept quiet about it for three years.
That is what a culture of abuse looks like — not one bad actor, but a circle.
How Democrats Built a Capitol Hill Sex Scandal Culture and Called It Fixed
This is not a new problem.
In 2017, the MeToo reckoning hit Congress and Democrats celebrated.
Rep. John Conyers – the longest-serving Democrat in the House – resigned after a $27,000 settlement for sexually harassing a female staffer who said she was fired for rejecting his advances.
Sen. Al Franken resigned after eight women accused him of groping and misconduct.
Congress responded in 2018 with new rules prohibiting sexual relationships between members and their own staffers and declared the problem solved – leaving a gaping loophole intact.
Pursuing another member's staffer remains perfectly legal under House rules.
And Congress runs a dedicated office funded by taxpayers – the Office of Congressional Compliance – specifically to settle harassment claims against its own members.
All of it quiet, out of court, and paid for by you.
The same Democrats who ran on protecting women built a system to protect the men preying on them instead.
Eight years later, two more resignations, a third member under investigation, and a fourth who was allegedly caught at the same party and walked away clean for three years.
"This behavior of open philandering by married male members of Congress is pervasive and long overdue to be addressed," one source with direct knowledge told the New York Post.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida said what every honest person already knows – other members knew, leadership knew, and nobody did anything.
"If you knew about it, didn't do anything, why are you in a position of power?" Luna said.
That question points straight at Gomez.
Gomez was allegedly at these parties, allegedly doing these things, and walked away clean for three years while the clique stayed quiet.
The clique did not just protect Swalwell – it protected itself.
Sources:
- Steven Nelson, "Rep. Jimmy Gomez — member of Eric Swalwell's 'Cool Kids Clique' — accused of kissing much younger staffer," New York Post, April 18, 2026.
- "Eric Swalwell Resigns from Congress," TIME, April 12, 2026.
- Cassandra MacDonald, "Married Democrat Rep. Jimmy Gomez, Close Buddy of Swalwell, Accused of Kissing Much Younger Congressional Staffer Outside Party," The Gateway Pundit, April 18, 2026.
- "Eric Swalwell, Tony Gonzales exits trigger GOP, Democratic reckoning," The Hill, April 15, 2026.