Eric Swalwell

Representative Eric Swalwell on the Capitol Hill steps with friends, family, and campaign staff, 2013

In September 2011, Swalwell filed to run for Congress in the 15th district of California[22] The district had previously been the 13th, represented by 20-term incumbent Democrat Pete Stark. Stark had represented the district since 1973, seven years before Swalwell was born. Swalwell took a leave of absence from the Dublin City Council in order to run for the seat.[10]

Swalwell was only able to contest Stark in the general election because of California's "top two" primary system put in place by 2010 California Proposition 14. Under that system, the top two primary vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.[23] In the June primary election, Stark finished first with 41.8 percent of the vote, Swalwell placed second with 36 percent of the vote, and independent candidate Chris Pareja finished third with 22.2 percent of the vote.[24]

In the November 2012 general election, Swalwell was endorsed by the San Francisco Chronicle.[25][26] During the 2012 election cycle, the Stark campaign accused Swalwell of being a Tea Party candidate. The accusation was refuted by Swalwell and the San Jose Mercury News, which also endorsed Swalwell.[27] Stark refused to debate Swalwell during the campaign. In response, Swalwell organized a mock debate with an actor playing Pete Stark, quoting him verbatim when answering the moderator. Other campaign gimmicks included Chinese-manufactured rubber ducks, and a dreadlocked, bearded information man.[4][28]

In the November 2012 election, Swalwell defeated Stark, 52.1 to 47.9 percent.[29]

During his service in the House, Swalwell has become known for innovative and extensive use of social media to connect with constituents. In April 2016, The Hill dubbed him "the Snapchat king of Congress",[30] and he used Facebook Live and Periscope to broadcast House Democrats' historic gun-violence sit-in in June 2016.[31] Swalwell later called for new policies regarding cameras on the House floor.[32]

Swalwell was sworn into his first term in the House on January 3, 2013, becoming only the third person to represent this district and its predecessors since 1945. George P. Miller had held the seat from 1945 to 1973; Stark won it after unseating Miller in the 1972 Democratic primary.

In his first term, Swalwell served on the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Swalwell helped lead the fight against Transportation Security Administration administrator John S. Pistole on his decision to lift the ban on pocketknives at airport security;[33] the decision eventually was reversed.

Soon after taking office, Swalwell helped establish the United Solutions Caucus, a bipartisan group of freshman House members who met regularly to discuss areas of agreement.[34]

During a House vote on June 18, 2013,[35] Swalwell recorded a video of his vote against a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks to his mobile phone (the video was a six-second clip of him pressing the "nay" button on the electronic voting machine) and uploaded it to Vine, an internet video service.[36] House rules bar "the use of mobile electronic devices that impair decorum" and provide that "No device may be used for still photography or for audio or video recording."[36] Swalwell defended the action, stating "We operate under rules that were created in the eighteenth century, and I think it's time that the Congress start to act more like regular Americans do. I did not see this as impairing the decorum. I think what this did was highlight, for all to see, the democratic process."[36]

On December 12, 2013, Swalwell introduced the Philippines Charitable Giving Assistance Act into the House.[37] The bill allowed Americans to deduct from their 2013 taxes any charitable donations made between January 1, 2014, and April 15, 2014, provided they were made for the relief of victims in the Republic of the Philippines affected by Typhoon Haiyan.[37] The typhoon caused an estimated $1 billion in damage and killed thousands of people.[38] Swalwell said that "Typhoon Haiyan devastated many parts of the Philippines and we should make it as easy as possible for Americans who want to assist those affected by the storm."[38] Swalwell saw the bill as providing "another incentive for Americans to donate and donate now - when their help is needed most".[38] On March 25, 2014, this legislation was signed into law by President Obama.[39]

By the end of his first term, Swalwell had gotten three bills through the House and two of them signed into law — more than any other freshman.[40]

In 2014, Swalwell announced that he would serve as chairman of Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's O' Say Can You See PAC's Young Professionals Leadership Circle due to his friendship with the governor. He made clear that his support was about the 2014 midterm elections and not an endorsement of a potential presidential bid by O'Malley in 2016.[41] However, Swalwell did ultimately endorse O'Malley in July 2015.[42]

Swalwell was challenged in 2014 by Republican Hugh Bussell, a senior manager at Workday, Inc., and by Democratic State Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett of Hayward. The Democratic challenger, Corbett, placed third place in June's top-two primary, not earning enough votes to make the general election.[43] Swalwell defeated Bussell in the November general election, 69.8 percent to 30.2 percent.[44] He was sworn into his second term on January 3, 2015.

During his second term, Swalwell served on the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and as ranking member of its Central Intelligence Agency Subcommittee. He also retained his seat on the United States House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Swalwell meets with President Barack Obama on February 12, 2015.

In April 2015, Swalwell founded Future Forum,[45] a group of young House Democrats focused on the concerns of millennials. Swalwell still chairs the group – now numbering 27 members – and has traveled to more than 40 cities to listen to millennials' concerns at college campuses, business incubators, and other locales. These sessions have led Swalwell to become particularly outspoken on the issue of student loan debt;[46] as of mid-2017, Swalwell said he himself still carried almost $100,000 in debt from his undergraduate and law-school education.

In May 2015, Swalwell joined with Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) to launch the bipartisan Sharing Economy Caucus,[47] to explore how this burgeoning new economic sector can benefit more Americans.

In February 2016, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi elevated Swalwell to vice-chair of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee,[48] which sets the Democratic policy agenda and nominates Democratic Members for committee assignments.

Swalwell was challenged in 2016 by Republican Danny Reid Turner of Livermore.[49] Swalwell defeated Turner in the November general election, 73.8 percent to 26.2 percent.[50] He was sworn into his third term on January 3, 2017.

In December 2016, Swalwell was named the co-chair of Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, serving with Rosa DeLauro.[51]

Swalwell also retained his seat on the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence but left the United States House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology in order to serve on the United States House Committee on the Judiciary,[52] and its Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, and Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law.

Swalwell and Rep. Elijah Cummings in December 2016 introduced the Protecting Our Democracy Act,[53] which would create an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate foreign interference in the 2016 election. They reintroduced the legislation for the 115th Congress in January 2017,[54] but despite promoting a bipartisan commission, it failed to win any meaningful bipartisan support. The bill has been widely seen as unnecessarily duplicative given the then on-going Special Counsel investigation (2017–2019), as well as multiple existing committee investigations in the U.S. Congress. Swalwell's bill attracted support along entirely strict partisan lines except for two Republicans, and ultimately failed to reach a vote in the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Swalwell has remained a constant presence on national news networks throughout 2017, voicing his views on the investigations.[55]

Swalwell was challenged in 2018 by Republican Rudy Peters of Livermore.[56] Swalwell defeated Peters in the November general election, 73.0 to 27.0 percent.[57] He was sworn into his fourth term on January 3, 2019.

• Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
  • Subcommittee on Intelligence Modernization and Readiness (Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Technologies and Advanced Research
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property
  • Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law

• American Sikh Congressional Caucus
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus[58]
• Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus

In January 2020, Swalwell penned an op-ed for NBC News comparing the XYZ Affair to the 2019 Trump–Ukraine scandal that led to President Donald Trump's impeachment in the House of Representatives. Swalwell stated that in 1797, President John Adams' agents, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Elbridge Gerry, and John Marshall, were asked by Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord's agents Baron Jean-Conrad Hottinguer, Pierre Bellamy, and Lucien Hauteval to "do a favor" (pay a bribe) before they could meet Talleyrand. Swalwell noted the similarity to Trump's demand of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to do a favor.[74]