Swalwell embraces role as Trump’s ‘most vocal critic’ as he launches bid to succeed Newsom as governor
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As he launches his bid to become California’s next governor, D-Calif. Rep. Eric Swalwell embraced his latest disagreement with the Trump administration and touted himself as the president’s “most vocal critic.”
His highly visible clashes with President Donald Trump throughout his congressional career have given Swalwell a national profile. He appears poised to continue that line and has repeatedly emphasized his tensions with the president when the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this month that it would launch a new investigation against him.
“Nancy Pelosi chose me to lead the impeachment of a corrupt president. Californians will never bend the knee,” Swalwell said. in a video published on its website.
California’s current governor, Gavin Newsom, is term-limited in 2026.
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Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., has launched a bid to become California’s next governor. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)
The Justice Department has launched an investigation into Swalwell for alleged mortgage fraud, and he may also be under investigation for tax fraud and insurance fraud, NBC reported. Swalwell denies any wrongdoing.
“The only thing that surprises me is that it took this long for him to come after me,” Swalwell said in a statement following news of the investigation.
Swalwell first came to Congress in 2013 after serving as a deputy county district attorney in California from 2006 to 2012. He briefly ran for president in 2020 but dropped out of the race just three months after launching his bid.
In media interviews since the Justice Department announced the investigation, Swalwell has embraced his role as a target of the administration.
“This is really about Donald Trump going after his political enemies. No one has been a more vocal critic than me. I have one of the only lawsuits filed against Donald Trump on January 6th,” Swalwell said in an interview on MSNBC. ongoing litigation On whether Trump encouraged protesters to attack the US Capitol in 2021.
“I wouldn’t change a single thing about what I did to stand up to Donald Trump when he got in my way while fighting for Californians,” Swalwell said. “I’m not going to shrink even a little bit because Donald Trump is trying to intimidate me and it’s not working with the other colleagues he’s going after.”
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Highly visible clashes with President Donald Trump have given Swalwell a national profile. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
In a post I wrote to X, Swalwell listed himself alongside other Democrats facing similar charges from the Justice Department.
“Like James Comey and John Bolton, Adam Schiff and Lisa Cook, Letitia James and dozens of others to come, I refuse to live in fear in what was once the freest country in the world,” Swalwell said.
While his record in the 119th Congress may not jump off the page, his opposition to Trump stands out.
Swalwell, in particular, has missed 16 percent of the vote since the beginning of the year, making him the 10th most absent member of the House of Representatives. He rarely breaks with the party, having voted against the Democratic majority only eight times since the start of the session. It also hasn’t made much noise on fundraising this year, reporting a respectable but not exceptional $1.4 million in the first three quarters of 2025.
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Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., is photographed at a hearing. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
But Swalwell’s years-long record against Trump stands out.
As mentioned in his video, Swalwell was the House impeachment manager against Trump in 2021, and in addition to his case, he used his position on the House Oversight Committee to criticize the president’s policies and behavior.
“Next week, when we hear that another opponent of Donald Trump is being investigated, that’s going to be bullshit, too,” Swalwell said in an interview with CNN. “Of course, I am one of the most vocal critics of Donald Trump. I have the only cause that survived him becoming president; myself and the other officers on January 6.”
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The investigation into Swalwell is still in its early stages. The DOJ has not announced whether or when a grand jury hearing will be held. Swalwell’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
