A wave of ethics investigations has struck Democrats in Washington, targeting two key figures within weeks and deepening concerns about the party’s internal vulnerabilities. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) delivered formal sexual misconduct allegations directly to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics this week, citing claims that Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)—a former House colleague of Eric Swalwell and a rising Democratic presidential contender—has engaged in conduct described as “sexual in nature.”

The referral, processed through Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office, marks the first formal action by Senate Ethics leadership on allegations against Gallego. Luna confirmed her office transmitted the materials to Thune’s team for forward passage to the committee, confirming this is no longer a whispered campaign but an official referral. A spokesperson for Gallego stated his team would focus on contextualizing Rep. Luna’s role rather than the allegations themselves, emphasizing that the Senate Ethics Committee has not yet contacted him directly—though the committee remains responsible for determining whether to launch a formal investigation.

This development arrives less than two weeks after Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat and Gallego’s longtime House ally, became the subject of his own ethics probe following multiple sexual harassment allegations from women who reported being raped twice by Swalwell. The timing has left Democrats reeling: both men—former colleagues in Congress for over a decade—now face separate investigations within days of each other, with Gallego’s referral occurring just weeks after Swalwell’s House Ethics Committee opened its inquiry.

Political analysts note the sequence represents an unexpected shift for Democrats, who had previously viewed Swalwell as the party’s sole ethical outlier amid a recent wave of headlines. The rapid escalation has raised questions about the resilience of Democratic leadership and the practical implications of ethics referrals within the Senate’s structure.