Eric Swalwell

Eric Swalwell

Eric Swalwell is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 15th district of California.

He is running for president in the 2020 elections.

Background

Swalwell was raised in Sac City, Iowa and Dublin, California. While attending the University of Maryland, College Park, he served as a student liaison to the city council for College Park, Maryland. He then interned for Ellen Tauscher and worked as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California. Before being elected to the U.S. House, he served as a local appointee on Dublin commissions, and served one term elected to the Dublin City Council. He was elected to the U.S. House in November 2012, defeating incumbent Pete Stark, a 40-year incumbent who had held the office since 1973. Stark was a fellow Democrat almost a half-century Swalwell's senior; Swalwell was born shortly after Stark's re-election to his fifth term in Congress in the 1980 election. Swalwell took office on January 3, 2013.

JStreet PAC endorsement

In 2024 JStreet PAC endorsed Eric Swalwell.

Leaders We Deserve

In August 2023, two prominent youth activists — gun safety advocate David Hogg and Kevin Lata, Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost's 2022 campaign manager — are launching a new organization seeking to put more young people in elected office.

"A big part of this ... is electing young people that have the values of our generation, that understand the anxiety of not knowing if you’re going to be able to survive math class," Lata told NBC News.

That's why he and Hogg are partnering to launch a group, Leaders We Deserve, that will support young candidates for congressional and state legislative office.

The group will feature a PAC arm that can coordinate with campaigns as well as a super PAC that can raise and spend unlimited amounts supporting candidates.

"Running for office is so hard," Lata told NBC News, "I mean, it's it's gotta be one of the hardest things there is to do and for a young person it's even harder."

Lata added that "young people just don't necessarily have the political connections or fundraising connections. So the idea is ... we'll help raise money for them. We will work to try to help get them, get connected with reporters to write stories about their races ... just like work really closely to help them build out the mechanics of the campaign."

The pair plans to hire a staff to support their work and will select 15 to 30 candidates to back at the state legislative level. They haven't ruled out working with a limited number of congressional campaigns, too.

They're being advised by a diverse group of young, progressive elected officials, including Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., Maxwell Frost and Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones, who was briefly expelled from the legislature for leading a protest in favor of gun control onto the state House floor earlier this year.

Humanitarian Needs in Cuba letter

December 16 2021 , House Rules Committee Chair James McGovern (D-MA), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory Meeks (D-NY), House Appropriations subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations Chair Barbara Lee (D-CA), and House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Energy Chair Bobby Rush (D-IL) led 114 Members of Congress in a letter to President Biden asking him to prioritize the well-being of the Cuban people as they experience the worst economic and humanitarian crisis in recent history...

In the wake of this year’s protests, the members urged the administration to support the Cuban people by suspending U.S. regulations that prevent food, medicine, remittances, and other humanitarian assistance from reaching the Cuban people...

Signatories included Eric Swalwell.

Back to Qatar

January 2022, Reps. Lou Correa, Sean Patrick Maloney, Stacey Plaskett, Eric Swalwell in Qatar to meet Afghan refugees.

Qatar trip

July 2021 Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell appeared on a camel shirtless in pictures that were reportedly posted to Instagram, according to Business Insider. The photos were taken on a trip to Qatar funded in large part by the U.S.-Qatar Business Council during the pandemic, it was reported Friday.

The story was originally published by Business Insider after the photos surfaced on Instagram. The trip was funded by the U.S.-Qatar Business Council to the tune of $84,621.59 according to the New York Post. The trip included Swalwell and his wife along with Reps. Ruben Gallego, Luis Correa, Sara Jacobs, and Lisa McClain.

The U.S.-Qatar Business Council reached out to the New York Post stating that it only provided funding for, “costs directly associated with travel and the working agenda of the trip.”

Qatari connection

Rep. Eric Swalwell has met twice in the past nine months with a Hamas-linked charity that spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year to influence U.S. universities.

Swalwell and four other House members visited the Qatar Foundation headquarters in April during a four-day trip hosted by the US-Qatar Business Council, according to an itinerary of the junket. The delegation met with Qatar’s emir, government leaders, and Qatar Foundation officials to discuss business opportunities for the members’ districts. The trip drew attention after photos surfaced of Swalwell and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D., Ariz.) riding shirtless on camels in Qatar’s desert. Swalwell also visited Qatar Foundation headquarters with two fellow Democrats during a trip to Doha last October.

The Qatar Foundation, founded in 1995 by Qatar’s then-emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, says its mission is to promote scientific research and educational advancement in the Middle East and across the globe. The foundation has faced scrutiny in recent years over its alleged links to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Its funding of satellite campuses for dozens of U.S. schools has also fueled concerns that the foundation has infiltrated the colleges in order to push its political views and downplay the Qatari royal family’s close ties to terror groups.

The Lawfare Project, a legal group based in New York City, said in a report last year that the Qatar Foundation’s "infiltration" of American schools has turned "school teachers into de facto agents of the Qatari government, conveying its political (and anti-Semitic) views to students and the general population without any acknowledgment of the origins of these views."

The foundation, which registers with the Justice Department as a foreign agent, has numerous links to terror groups and to clerics who have espoused anti-Semitic views. It opened an academic center in 2009 named after Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a leading Muslim Brotherhood figure who lives in exile in Doha. Al-Qaradawi said in a 2009 speech that Adolf Hitler "put [Jews] in their place," according to the Middle East Media Research Institute.

The Daily Beast reported in 2015 that al-Qaradawi was in attendance at the opening of a Qatar Foundation mosque in Doha that featured a long roster of anti-Semitic clerics.

One Qatar Foundation official, Haya al-Nassr, awarded Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh with a "victory shield" during a ceremony in 2012. During Hamas’s rocket attacks on Israel in May, professors at the foundation’s Northwestern and Georgetown University satellite campuses called Israel an "apartheid" state.

The US-Qatar Business Council, which promotes trade between the United States and Qatar, paid $19,000 for travel, lodging, and meals for Swalwell and his wife, according to disclosures filed with Congress. Business Insider first reported that Swalwell, Gallego, Reps. Sara Jacobs (D., Calif.), Lou Correa (D., Calif.), and Lisa McClain (R., Mich.) made the trip.

Swalwell visited Qatar Foundation’s Education City last year with Reps. Jim Himes (D., Conn.) and Seth Moulton (D., Mass.) to learn about Qatar’s medical innovation in the field of precision genetics, Gulf Times reported. Education City is the site of satellite campuses for U.S. colleges that partner with the Qatar Foundation, including Northwestern, Georgetown, and Texas A&M. Himes, who also sits on the House Intelligence Committee, praised Qatar’s gender rights record during an interview about the trip.

"It’s also a model for reform in the Arab world and a leader in women’s rights. Qatar is a linchpin in the Middle East and provides a bridge between the Islamic world and the West," Himes said.

"Chinese spy connection"

A suspected Chinese intelligence operative developed extensive ties with local and national politicians, including a U.S. congressman, in what U.S. officials believe was a political intelligence operation run by China’s main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015, Axios found in a yearlong investigation.

Christine Fang with then-Dublin City Councilmember Eric Swalwell at an October 2012

. The woman at the center of the operation, a Chinese national named Fang Fang or Christine Fang, targeted up-and-coming local politicians in the Bay Area and across the country who had the potential to make it big on the national stage.

Through campaign fundraising, extensive networking, personal charisma, and romantic or sexual relationships with at least two Midwestern mayors, Fang was able to gain proximity to political power, according to current and former U.S. intelligence officials and one former elected official.

Even though U.S. officials do not believe Fang received or passed on classified information, the case "was a big deal, because there were some really, really sensitive people that were caught up" in the intelligence network, a current senior U.S. intelligence official said.

Private but unclassified information about government officials — such as their habits, preferences, schedules, social networks, and even rumors about them — is a form of political intelligence. Collecting such information is a key part of what foreign intelligence agencies do.

Among the most significant targets of Fang's efforts was Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).

Fang took part in fundraising activity for Swalwell’s 2014 re-election campaign, according to a Bay Area political operative and a current U.S. intelligence official. Swalwell’s office was directly aware of these activities on its behalf, the political operative said. That same political operative, who witnessed Fang fundraising on Swalwell's behalf, found no evidence of illegal contributions.

Federal Election Commission records don’t indicate Fang herself made donations, which are prohibited from foreign nationals.

Fang helped place at least one intern in Swalwell's office, according to those same two people, and interacted with Swalwell at multiple events over the course of several years. A statement from Swalwell's office provided to Axios said: "Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provided information about this person — whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasn’t seen in nearly six years — to the FBI. To protect information that might be classified, he will not participate in your story."

What happened: Amid a widening counterintelligence probe, federal investigators became so alarmed by Fang's behavior and activities that around 2015 they alerted Swalwell to their concerns — giving him what is known as a defensive briefing.

Swalwell immediately cut off all ties to Fang, according to a current U.S. intelligence official, and he has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Fang left the country unexpectedly in mid-2015 amid the investigation. She did not respond to multiple attempts by Axios to reach her by email and Facebook.

In 2011, Fang enrolled as a student at California State University East Bay, where she served as the president of the school's Chinese Student Association and president of the campus chapter of Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs (APAPA), a national organization that encourages Asian Americans to get involved in civic affairs.

She used those positions as her initial platform to gain access to political circles. She frequently invited political figures, business executives, and Chinese consular officials to attend the flurry of high-profile events she organized over a period of several years, according to current and former local officials, former students, Bay Area politicos, and social media activity.

Fang's first known contact with numerous politicians, including Eric Swalwell, Bill Harrison, Judy Chu, and then-candidate Ro Khanna was through her role as president of these organizations.

Fang received a campus pride award for the work she did on behalf of the Chinese Student Association during the 2012–2013 academic year. During this time, Fang maintained unusually close ties to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco.

Fang "was a bundler" for Swalwell and other candidates, according to a Bay Area political operative with direct knowledge of her efforts. A current U.S. intelligence official confirmed her activity for Swalwell; a local elected official also said she brought in donors for other candidates. Bundlers persuade others to write checks for campaigns; they can bring in substantial sums of money as well as deepen the campaign’s engagement with target communities, making bundlers a valuable and thus potentially influential ally to a candidate.

The Bay Area political operative who witnessed Fang fundraising on Swalwell’s behalf was concerned whether donors she brought in were legally permitted to donate. They found no evidence of illegal contributions.

Fang facilitated the potential assignment of interns into Swalwell’s offices, the political operative said. In at least one case, an intern recommended by Fang was placed into Swalwell’s D.C. office, this person said. A current U.S. intelligence official confirmed the intern placement.

For Fang, targeting Swalwell made sense. His 2012 campaign — which was something of a longshot bid, pitting a young and relatively inexperienced city official against a longtime incumbent from the same party — relied heavily on Asian American support, said a former congressional staffer from the East Bay.

That made Swalwell's ties to the Chinese American community, and particularly APAPA, the Asian American civic organization, especially important.

It's common for Chinese student association presidents to communicate frequently with Chinese consular officials.

But Fang's relationship to the San Francisco consulate was especially close, according to social media posts, event flyers, photographs, and one current U.S. intelligence official.

Consulate connection

Poor People's Campaign

Eric Swalwell June 19 2019.

At Monday's Poor People's Campaign, I spoke about how being poor is not immoral. What is immoral though, is that we live in the wealthiest country on earth but don’t provide health care to every person. What is immoral is public policy that harms people rather than helps them.

Women's March

Women's March, Walnut Creek, 2017 Mark DeSaulnier and Eric Swalwell.

Congressional interns

• Isabella Olive - Scheduler/Press Assistant
• Delainey Boyd - Scheduler
• Belinda Magallon - Constituent Services
• Natalie Edelstein - Deputy Communications
• Edward Mora - Senior District Representative
• Miles Campbell
• Ishaan Golding - Scheduler and Legislative
• Marty Nelson
• Kimberly Lopez - District Office Liaison
• Shannon Meyer
• Chris Keosian - Scheduler & Operations Manager
• Adeola Adesina - Health Policy Advisor
• Kyle Conan Maron
• Jacklyn Rogers - Communications Assistant
• Yazan Hanouneh
• Josh Richman - Communications Director
• Naree Ketudat - Communications Assistant
• Jennifer Loza

Iowa comrades

Andrea J. Phillips November 10, 2018 ·

“I don’t think it’s a winning strategy to dismiss people or insult people” Congressman Eric Swalwell speaking to the Asian & Latino Coalition. — with Ako Abdul Samad, Joe Henry, Mark Rocha and Congressman Eric Swalwell.

Al Womble November 10, 2018 ·

With Joe Henry, Andrea J. Phillips, Joseph Fernandez, John Forbes, Mitch Henry, Daniel Garza, Araceli Goode, Mark Rocha, Prakash Kopparapu, Jon Shelness, Steve Villatoro and Congressman Eric Swalwell at Iowa State Capitol.

Donald Trump will 'cage your children' if you are Hispanic

Eric Swalwell's tweet dated June 22 2019

On June 22, 2019, Eric Swalwell tweeted "If you’re Hispanic, there’s nothing @realDonaldTrump wont do to break up your family, cage your children, or erase your existence with a weaponized census. And there’s nothing we won’t do in the streets, courts, and at the ballot box to stop him."

Presidential campaign staffers

• Lisa Tucker Campaign manager Founding partner, The Tucker Group
• Alex Evans Senior strategist Chief of staff, office of Rep. Eric Swalwell
• Tim Sbranti Senior strategist Deputy chief of staff, office of Rep. Eric Swalwell
• Josh Richman Communications director Communications director, office of Rep. Eric Swalwell
• Cait McNamee National press secretary Press secretary, office of Rep. Eric Swalwell
• Yardena Wolf National finance director Managing director, Campaigns, Berger Hirschberg Strategies

HR 109 endorser

By February 20 2019 endorsers of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's HR 109 (Green New Deal) included Eric Swalwell.

Medicare for All Act

In February 2019 Rep. Pramila Jayapal introduced H.R.1384 - Medicare for All Act of 2019. By May 29 she had 110 co-sponsors including Rep. Eric Swalwell.

Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

In May 2013, Eric Swalwell was listed as an associate member the of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

PDA contact

In 2013 Progressive Democrats of America assigned activists to deliver their material to almost every US Congressman and Senator, Jeff Nibert was assigned as the contact for Rep. Swalwell.

Urges "progressive" DEA chief

May 1, 2015, Representatives Jared Polis (D-CO), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) sent a letter to President Obama urging him to nominate a new Drug Enforcement Administration chief that has a more progressive approach to federal drug enforcement. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Sam Farr (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) also joined in sending the letter.

The Representatives urged the President to nominate a DEA Administrator who is willing to work with state and federal officials to create policies that work with­—not against­­—the evolving landscape of state marijuana laws. The letter states that retiring DEA director Michele Leonhart placed too great an emphasis on prosecuting marijuana use and not enough on drug-related activity that truly poses a public-safety risk.

“The DEA plays a critical role in promoting the health and safety of Americans. But to succeed in its mission, it must refocus its efforts on cracking down on bad actors who seek to evade state laws rather than those who abide by them,” the Representatives wrote. “All of us share a commitment to keeping drugs out of the hands of children, diminishing the reach of criminal cartels, and helping individuals who are addicted to drugs find the help they need to turn their lives around.

“To accomplish these aims, the DEA must end its resistance to the changing public consensus on marijuana use and stop expending its limited resources to prosecute individuals who are not a threat to public safety and, instead, focus on drug activity that poses a more serious risk,” they added.

ARA endorsement

The Alliance for Retired Americans Political Action Fund endorsed Eric Swalwell in 2014.

NIAC book talk

Norooz greetingd

Condemning Criticism of Islam legislation

On December 17, 2015, Rep. Don Beyer, Jr. introduced legislation condemning "violence, bigotry, and hateful rhetoric towards Muslims in the United States." The legislation is based on unsourced claims that there is a "rise of hateful and anti-Muslim speech, violence, and cultural ignorance," and a "disproportionate targeting" of "Muslim women who wear hijabs, headscarves, or other religious articles of clothing...because of their religious clothing, articles, or observances." The resolution, H.Res.569 - Condemning violence, bigotry, and hateful rhetoric towards Muslims in the United States

The legislation was cosponsored by Rep. Michael Honda, Rep. Keith Ellison, Rep. Joseph Crowley, Rep. Andre Carson, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Rep. Betty McCollum, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Rep. Dan Kildee, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, Rep. Charles Rangel, Rep. Scott Peters, Rep. Brad Ashford, Rep. Alan Grayson, Rep. Mark Takai, Rep. Brian Higgins, Rep. William Keating, Rep. Raul Grijalva, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Rep. G.K. Butterfield, Rep. Gerry Connolly, Rep. Ruben Gallego, Rep. Cheri Bustos, Rep. John Delaney, Rep. Kathy Castor, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, Rep. Michael Quigley, Rep. Elizabeth Esty, Rep. Joseph Kennedy III, Rep. Robin Kelly, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, Rep. Greg Meeks, Rep. Grace Meng, Rep. Al Green, Rep. Katherine Clark, Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Alcee Hastings, Rep. Sam Farr, Rep. Frank Pallone, Rep. Jim McDermott, Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Donna Edwards, Rep. Robert Brady, Rep. Frederica Wilson, Rep. Michael Doyle, Rep. Albio Sires, Rep. Suzan DelBene, Rep. Judy Chu, Rep. Jared Polis, Rep. David Loebsack, Rep. Bill Pascrell, Rep. Debbie Dingell, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Rep. Steve Cohen, Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, Rep. John Yarmuth, Rep. Niki Tsongas, Rep. Jim Langevin, Rep. Mark Pocan, Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Rep. Mark Takano, Rep. Timothy J. Ryan, Rep. Jose Serrano, Rep. Hank Johnson, Rep. Paul Tonko, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Rep. Lois Capps, Rep. David Price, Rep. Doris Matsui, Rep. Gwen Moore, Rep. Denny Heck, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Rep. John Carney, Rep. Xavier Becerra, Rep. Eric Swalwell, Rep. John B. Larson, Rep. Dina Titus, Rep. Peter Welch, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, Rep. Jim Himes, Rep. Matt Cartwright.

"Hate crimes"

On CAIR

Groups like CAIR are critical to ensure everyone in this country is able to freely participate in society and live up to their fullest potential.”

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) (October 2017)

Eric Swalwell wrote a letter of support to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on the occasion of their 24th anniversary in September 2018.

Moina Shaiq connection

Eric Swalwell with Moina Shaiq.

Muslim Dems and Friends Democratic Club of Alameda County

Cullen Tiernan March 27, 2018 near Fremont, CA:

Live streaming Congressman Eric Swalwell at our Muslim Dems and Friends Democratic Club of Alameda County Meeting 📡🇺🇸

1. engage #livestream #congress #fremontfirst #transparency #party #ask #questions

Photo credit: Nomi Dar 🙏🏽 — with Sameena Usman, Mohsin Mirza, Sabina Zafar and Moina Shaiq.

Cullen Tiernan March 28, 2018 near Fremont, CA ·

Congressman Eric Swalwell getting ready to take a #selfie short video with the Muslim Dems and Friends Democratic Club of Alameda County.

I made a joke about #snapchat, and the Congressman corrected me that #Instagram is preferred, because he’s got more viewers 📡🇺🇸 #allofustogether #Muslim #dems #activists #congressional #attention

Photo credit: Nomi Dar 🙏🏽 — with Manaf Akbari, Tim Sbranti, Mohsin Mirza, Sabina Zafar, Raj Salwan, David Bonaccorsi and Fahria Khan.

Muslim Democrat endorsement

Funding for Colombia

March 28, 2016 Washington, D.C. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL), and 14 of their House colleagues sent a letter to key House Appropriations Committee members asking them to fully fund President Barack Obama’s budget request for aid to Colombia.

Last month, President Obama announced a new aid package totaling $450 million for FY 2017 to assist the Colombian government in implementing a potential peace deal with the FARC guerillas after more than fifty years of violent conflict in the country. The funding would also support Colombia’s efforts to address security challenges including the threat of violent drug cartels.

“Now, just as the peace process is beginning to bear fruit, is not the time to reduce our financial assistance to our ally and partner,” the group wrote in a letter to Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), chair of the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs, and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), who serves as the subcommittee’s ranking member. “After decades of equipping Colombia to fight, we have a vested interest in helping the Colombian people to rebuild. We must continue the robust, bipartisan support which, at long last, has brought Colombia to the precipice of peace.”

Signers include, Rep. James McGovern, Rep. Sam Farr, Rep. Hank Johnson, Rep. John Lewis, Rep. Linda Sanchez, Rep. Charles B. Rangel, Rep. Jim Himes, Rep. Eric Swalwell, Rep. Filemon Vela, Rep. Tony Cardenas, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, Rep. Keith Ellison, and Rep. Mark Pocan.

External links

• Campaign Website

Harris connection