Lawmakers who left Congress in disgrace could still collect pensions

When former Congressmen Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales resigned from the House amid misconduct allegations, they may have left in disgrace — but they didn't leave empty-handed. Under current law, both men remain eligible for congressional pensions worth tens of thousands of dollars annually.

Swalwell faces allegations of sexual assault by a former staffer, all of which he has denied. Gonzales acknowledged an affair with a staffer who later died by self-immolation. House rules explicitly prohibit sexual relationships between members and staff. Yet neither man was convicted of a crime, and under current federal law, that's the threshold for losing a pension.

That could change. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation that would prohibit members of Congress from receiving pensions if convicted of specific crimes — including rape, sexual assault, theft, and campaign finance violations — or if Congress determines they had sexual relationships with staff, even without a criminal conviction.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has introduced a narrower bill, the "No Pensions for Congressional Predators Act," which would add felony sex crimes to the list of offenses that trigger pension forfeiture. "This is about sending a message," Hawley said. "We're not going to pay you to engage in this kind of conduct."

Current law already strips pensions from lawmakers convicted of public corruption, espionage, or treason — the standards established after George Santos's expulsion in 2023. But sex crimes and staff relationships aren't on that list.

Pension experts raise concerns on both sides. Andrew Biggs of the American Enterprise Institute noted that the House bill could strip pensions for consensual relationships — conduct that might cost someone their job but wouldn't normally affect retirement benefits. Olivia Mitchell of the Wharton School warned that the broader bill raises due process questions, especially when benefits could be denied without a criminal conviction.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), a freshman on the Ethics Committee, acknowledged the tension: "The Ethics Committee is never going to move as fast as the news cycle." But he argued that investigations must be thorough even when the public demands immediate consequences.

What This Means For You: Members of Congress who resign in disgrace keeping their taxpayer-funded pensions is exactly the kind of thing that erodes public trust in government. But the proposed fixes raise real questions about due process. If Congress can strip pensions without a conviction, what stops future Congresses from weaponizing that power? The answer might be narrower than either bill currently proposes: criminal conviction as the standard, with sexual assault and staff exploitation explicitly added to the list of qualifying offenses.