Lonna Drewes accuses Eric Swalwell of rape
At a press conference in Los Angeles, Drewes accused Eric Swalwell on Tuesday of drugging her and raping her in 2018.
“On the third occasion, I believe he drugged my drink,” Drewes said. “I only had one glass of wine.”
She went on to detail that he allegedly raped her and choked her, and she lost consciousness.
“I did not consent to any sexual activity,” she said.
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“On the third occasion, I believe he drugged my drink,” Drewes said. “I only had one glass of wine.”
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She went on to detail that he allegedly raped her and choked her, and she lost consciousness.
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“I did not consent to any sexual activity,” she said.
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A woman who accused Eric Swalwell of sexual misconduct is holding a news conference on Tuesday. Lonna Drewes is accompanied by her two attorneys.
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“I had contact with Eric Swalwell on three separate occasions after meeting him socially,” she said.
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Donald Trump has said that talks with Iran could resume in Pakistan over next two days, according to an interview with the New York Post.
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“You should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we’re more inclined to go there,” Trump was quoted as saying.
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After saying in an initial call that talks were unlikely to return to Pakistan, the Post said Trump called back minutes later to say it was “more likely” they would go back to Islamabad because the country’s army chief Asim Munir “is doing a great job”.
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Anna Paulina Luna, the Republican congresswoman from Florida, said that she would push for an expulsion vote if Eric Swalwell didn’t formally resign with the Clerk of the House by 2pm ET today.
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Paulina Luna walks near the House chamber at the US Capitol, 26 March 2026.”,”caption”:”Anna Paulina Luna walks near the House chamber at the US Capitol, 26 March 2026.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Nathan Howard/Reuters”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Notably, the embattled California Democrat did not say when he would officially step down in his resignation announcement. Instead, Swalwell said he is working with his staff to ensure they can “serve the needs” of constituents. Luna, for her part, called this “not binding” and “wormy”.
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Luna said she would also continue her expulsion resolution against Tony Gonzales if he doesn’t follow through with his plan to file his “retirement from office” today.
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As both chambers of Congress return to Capitol Hill today, the news of two resignation announcements is not the only thing news occupying lawmakers.
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The House still needs to pass a bill to fund several Department of Homeland Security (DHS) subagencies, like the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Coast Guard, amid a record-breaking partial government shutdown.
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Although the Senate advanced a measure that remedies this funding lapse, but notably doesn’t include money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border patrol. Hardline House Republicans argue that their colleagues in the upper chamber are ultimately handing Democrats a win, after they refused to pass legislation to fund DHS without stronger guardrails on federal immigration enforcement, following the crackdown in Minneapolis where officers fatally shot two US citizens.
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Now, House speaker Mike Johnson has to bring his fractured GOP conference together. Both he and John Thune, the Senate majority leader, are also on the clock to pass a budget bill that would fund ICE and CBP via reconciliation, a process that only requires a simple majority.
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Meanwhile, there is a bicameral effort from Democrats to pass a war powers resolution to curb the Trump administration’s military action in Iran. Lawmakwers in the House and Senate appear confident they have the handful of Republican votes needed to pass the measure. However, even if it were to pass, it’s unlikely to achieve a two-thirds majority needed to overcome Donald Trump’s inevitable veto.
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Less than a year after signing legislation that will pull nearly 12 million Americans off health insurance by gutting Medicaid, Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself to Truth Social on Sunday depicting him as a Jesus-like figure, with divine light emanating from his hands as he heals a stricken man in a hospital bed with a demon from hell floating in the background.
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The president has since deleted the post, which also followed a lengthy tirade about Pope Leo XIV on the site the same day in which he called him “weak on crime” and blamed the head of the Catholic church for being influenced by Barack Obama strategist David Axelrod. Trump refused to apologize to the pope, saying: “He went public. I’m just responding to Pope Leo.”
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Trump faced the wrath of some of his most high-profile and loyal Christian supporters, many of whom have stood by the president through multiple other indiscretions and were unable to contain their righteous fury.
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Riley Gaines, a Fox News podcast host and conservative commentator, wrote on X she “cannot understand why he’d post this”.
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She continued: “Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this? Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked.”
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When reporters asked Trump whether he posted a picture depicting himself as Jesus Christ, Trump said “it wasn’t a depiction, it was me”, though he insisted: “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better.”
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He added: “And I do make people better. I make people a lot better.”
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Hello and welcome to our coverage of US politics. The House returns following recess amid continued anger over Donald Trump’s conflict with Iran, the standoff over the DHS funding package and debates over restrictive voter ID legislation.
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But first let’s look at the news that two lawmakers have stepped down, with two more facing possible expulsion over a series of scandals that have rattled both parties and thrown the House of Representatives into turmoil.
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Representative Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California, said on Monday he would resign from Congress following multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct that ended his bid for governor.
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“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,” Swalwell said in a statement shared on social media. “I will fight the serious false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”
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Hours later, representative Tony Gonzales, a Republican from Texas, announced he was stepping down from Congress after acknowledging an extramarital affair with a staffer. House speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican leaders had already urged him not to seek reelection.
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“There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas,” Gonzales wrote on X.
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Meanwhile, lawmakers are considering separate controversies involving two Florida lawmakers – Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Republican Cory Mills – in an unusual push for disciplinary action.
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“Congress should not tolerate representatives who abuse staff, betray public trust for personal gain, and generally violate their oath of office,” New York Democrat Nydia Velazquez posted on X, calling for all four to resign and adding “if they refuse, they should be expelled.”
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Expulsion from the House requires a two-thirds majority, a threshold so high that Congress has wielded the sanction only in the gravest cases, removing just six members in its 237-year history.
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In other developments:
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Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV exchanged retorts after Trump posted and then deleted an AI-generated image of himself as a Christ-like figure. As he began a 10-day tour of four African countries, Leo told reporters he didn’t “want to get into a debate” with Trump, but added that “the message of the gospel” is being “abused”.
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As the US blockade of the strait of Hormuz continues, Trump vowed that any Iranian ships that came “anywhere close” would be “immediately ELIMINATED”. In a post on Truth Social, the president added that US forces would use “the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea. It is quick and brutal.”
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The US military struck another vehicle in the eastern Pacific, killing two people. Following an attack on Saturday that killed five people, this strike brings the number of people who have been killed in boat strikes by the US military to at least 170 since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in early September.
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A federal judge dismissed Trump’s $10bn lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its publisher Dow Jones, after the president claimed the Rupert Murdoch-owned outlet defamed him by reporting on the president’s alleged message to Jeffrey Epstein, as part of the late sex offender’s 50th birthday album. Judge Darrin Gayles said that Trump’s legal team failed to proved that the Journal acted with “actual malice”, a key requirement in defamation cases involving a public figure.
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The Senate returned to work, while the House held a brief procedural session before getting back to regular business on Tuesday. Lawmakers have a vast agenda to tackle on their return, including a funding bill to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) subagencies affected by the record-breaking partial government shutdown, now in its ninth week.
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Key events
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Bloom noted that she is “sick and tired of women being victimized by men in power”. She welcomed the news of that Swalwell and Tony Gonzales, the Texas Republican accused of sexual misconduct, both plan to resign.
However, Bloom expressed that Swalwell’s decision to step down was not “an act of accountability at all”.
“I see it as an effort to avoid the expulsion hearing that was coming, because once he steps down, the ethics committee no longer has jurisdiction to impose consequences on him,” Bloom added. “However, there are other consequences, such as law enforcement, and that’s what we’re doing now.”
She and her colleagues will be working with the Los Angeles county sheriff’s office as the investigation continues.
Lisa Bloom, the attorney representing Lonna Drewes in her sexual assault complaint against Eric Swalwell, addressed Swalwell himself, urging him to “own your behavior”.
She also asked that any other victims or witnesses contact her law firm.
According to Bloom, three additional women have reached out to her since yesterday.
Attorney Lisa Bloom, who is representing Lonna Drewes, said that they will present all their evidence today to police, when formally accusing Eric Swalwell of sexual assault.
As part of the evidence, Bloom said they will present texts, a photograph and journal entries.
One of Lonna Drewes’ attorneys said that the allegations against Eric Swalwell are not political.
“This is about much more than politics,” Arick Fudali said. “Belittling such serious allegations is offensive to Lonna and to victims everywhere. This is not about Democrat versus Republican, this is about accountability versus silence.”
Lonna Drewes said that Eric Swalwell offered business connections when they first met.
Drewes says she was scared to report the alleged sexual assault.
Drewes added that she will be making a report to law enforcement on Tuesday.
Lonna Drewes accuses Eric Swalwell of rape
At a press conference in Los Angeles, Drewes accused Eric Swalwell on Tuesday of drugging her and raping her in 2018.
“On the third occasion, I believe he drugged my drink,” Drewes said. “I only had one glass of wine.”
She went on to detail that he allegedly raped her and choked her, and she lost consciousness.
“I did not consent to any sexual activity,” she said.
Eric Swalwell accuser holds press conference
A woman who accused Eric Swalwell of sexual misconduct is holding a news conference on Tuesday. Lonna Drewes is accompanied by her two attorneys.
“I had contact with Eric Swalwell on three separate occasions after meeting him socially,” she said.
Dharna Noor
California congressman Ro Khanna is set to introduce legislation on Tuesday that would ban the export of gasoline during price surges, amid the rising gas prices triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran.
“The country is crying out for a new energy policy,” said Khanna in an interview with the Guardian, “that doesn’t have us subject to the whims of the profits of big oil companies.”
The war on Iran has sparked the largest-ever disruption to fuel supply, causing the price of gasoline to spike dramatically. People in the US are now paying more than $4 per gallon at the pump.
Keeping domestic gasoline supplies at home, Khanna said, could lower the cost of gas for US consumers. During any period when national gas prices average $3.12 a gallon or higher, his proposed legislation would stop US shipments of refined gasoline to other countries.
Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday rebuked the US over the death of a Mexican immigrant who died in US immigration custody this week.
“We are going to defend Mexicans at every level,” Sheinbaum said during her daily press briefing, according to the Associated Press, adding that “there are many Mexicans whose only crime is not having papers.”
On Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced a Mexican man, detained inside an ICE facility in Louisiana, died in their custody on 11 April. The man, Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, was the fifteenth Mexican citizen who has died in US custody in a year.
Sheinbaum’s government previously said it would file a legal brief supporting a lawsuit by detainees over poor conditions in US immigration detention centers and would raise the detainee deaths with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
On Tuesday, the Mexican president added that her government was also considering appealing to the United Nations.
Trump says Iran talks could resume over next two days – report
Tom Ambrose
Donald Trump has said that talks with Iran could resume in Pakistan over next two days, according to an interview with the New York Post.
“You should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we’re more inclined to go there,” Trump was quoted as saying.
After saying in an initial call that talks were unlikely to return to Pakistan, the Post said Trump called back minutes later to say it was “more likely” they would go back to Islamabad because the country’s army chief Asim Munir “is doing a great job”.
One consequence of the US-Israel war on Iran has been a surge in gas prices in the US: The average gas price is now more than $4 per gallon, up from about $3 a year ago.
We would like to hear how this has affected you. Has it changed where you’re going and what you’re doing? Perhaps it has caused you to alter your holiday plans. Or maybe you’re cutting back on other expenses to manage the extra fuel costs. Tell us.
Share your experience using the form below.
Former attorney general Pam Bondi was meant to testify before the House oversight committee today on the government’s handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, and the justice department’s release of files relating to the late sex offender.
However, the panel was informed last week that since she no longer serves as an administration official she would no longer sit for lawmakers.
Robert Garcia, the committee’s top Democrat, has continued to slam Bondi’s decision, noting that the subpoeana stands regardless of her position. “If she continues to ignore the law, Oversight Dems will move forward with contempt proceedings immediately,” he said in a statement.
A reminder that at 12.30pm ET a woman “with serious sexual misconduct allegations” against Swalwell will hold a press conference alongside her attorneys, Lisa Bloom and Arick Fudali.
Both lawyers have previously represented victims in sexual misconduct cases involving Bill O’Reilly and Jeffrey Epstein, “will describe the next legal steps” in the woman’s case.
As Swalwell has announced his resignation from Congress, he will probably avoid the House ethics committee investigation that was launched on Monday. This, of course, doesn’t prohibit any criminal or civil charges being brought against the representative.
Luna vows expulsion vote if Swalwell doesn’t officially resign today
Anna Paulina Luna, the Republican congresswoman from Florida, said that she would push for an expulsion vote if Eric Swalwell didn’t formally resign with the Clerk of the House by 2pm ET today.
Notably, the embattled California Democrat did not say when he would officially step down in his resignation announcement. Instead, Swalwell said he is working with his staff to ensure they can “serve the needs” of constituents. Luna, for her part, called this “not binding” and “wormy”.
Luna said she would also continue her expulsion resolution against Tony Gonzales if he doesn’t follow through with his plan to file his “retirement from office” today.
Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, slipped toward $98 per barrel on Tuesday. This comes after Donald Trump’s claims that Iranian officials want to make a deal “very badly” and a blockade of Iranian ports in the strait of Hormuz.
The price of oil has ricocheted throughout the war on Iran, peaking at $119 per barrel at the end of March. On Monday, Chris Wright, the US energy secretary, sais oil prices will peak “in the next few weeks” until the US gets “meaningful ship traffic through the strait of Hormuz”.
