Senate ethics panel dismisses misconduct complaint against Ruben Gallego

WASHINGTON – The Senate Ethics Committee has dismissed misconduct allegations against Sen. Ruben Gallego, finding no evidence that the Arizona Democrat engaged in sexual misconduct or misused campaign funds.

The committee informed him on Friday, according to a letter released Monday by Gallego’s office that read, in part, that its investigation “did not find evidence that your actions violated Federal law, Senate Rules or related standards of conduct.” 

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., a staunch Trump supporter who has accused several lawmakers of misconduct, had leveled the accusations.

Luna claimed in April that four women had endured “multiple and uncomfortably/inappropriate advances/comments/touching, etc. from Senator Gallego.”

The senator also faced scrutiny over his close friendship with former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who was forced out of the California governor’s race earlier this year after accusations by multiple women of sexual assault or misconduct. 

Swalwell resigned April 13 under pressure from Luna and others. Gallego initially resisted calls for his resignation but eventually joined the chorus.

“It is time Congress has a good house cleaning,” Luna posted on X two days before Swalwell resigned.

“The dismissal by the Ethics Committee reaffirms what I have said about these accusations from the beginning: they were right-wing conspiracies peddled by far-right activists like Anna Paulina Luna, the White House, and their allies,” Gallego said in a statement issued by his office. “I look forward to an apology from Rep. Luna for weaponizing the ethics process while refusing to investigate historic corruption that’s making life harder for families.” 

IRS records show that Gallego created a legal defense fund on May 26.

In a scathing attack posted Monday on X, Luna warned Gallego that he would likely need that defense fund in the future.

“There are plenty of people who know about your antics,” she wrote. “Once a creep always a creep, and you’re gonna need it.”

She also rejected his characterization of her accusations.

“These are not conspiracy theories. You’re a gross example of representation. Need I mention you leaving your pregnant wife during your Campaign for Senate?” Luna posted.

Gallego did file for divorce from Kate Gallego, now the mayor of Phoenix, when she was nine months pregnant. But that was in December 2016, weeks after he won his second House term. The records were unsealed in October 2024, just before he won his Senate seat.

Luna has targeted members of her own party, too. In February, she demanded the resignation of Tony Gonzales, a moderate Texas Republican, after allegations surfaced that he had coerced a staff member into a sexual relationship. 

Gonzales resigned April 14.

Luna has also pushed for the resignation of two fellow Floridians, Republican Cory Mills and Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. 

In November, Cherfilus-McCormick was indicted on federal fraud and conspiracy charges. Prosecutors say she kept a $5 million overpayment from FEMA to her family’s business for a COVID-19 vaccine staffing contract, then diverted some of that to her campaign account through straw donors.

On March 26, the House Ethics panel found that she violated House rules involving campaign finance and financial disclosures. She resigned April 21, shortly before the panel was to meet to recommend a punishment.

Mills is the subject of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations of financial and sexual misconduct.

Related