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The leadership PACs led by Reps. Eric Swalwell (left) and Tony Gonzales donated to 24 and 28 congressional candidates, respectively, this cycle. (Photos by Etienne Laurent/AFP and Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images)
Before they stepped down this week under mounting pressure, Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) had distributed thousands of dollars to other candidates through their leadership political action committees.
Amid the public outcry against those departing lawmakers, though, some recipients are now rejecting those contributions.
Swalwell announced his resignation from Congress on April 13, one day after ending his gubernatorial bid in California following allegations of sexual assault that he has denied. Hours later, Gonzales said he would retire amid bipartisan calls for his expulsion after admitting to an affair with a staff member who later died by suicide.
Neither lawmaker has said when he will formally leave office. OpenSecrets contacted officials from both campaigns and their leadership PACs with questions about their plans for those political action committees, but did not immediately receive responses.
Leadership PACs allow federal officeholders to raise and distribute money to other candidates, often to strengthen vulnerable incumbents or competitive challengers. They can also serve as political leverage for lawmakers seeking influence within their party or considering higher office.
Through February, their two PACs looked very different on paper.
Swalwell’s Remedy PAC had nearly exhausted its resources, reporting just $32,436 cash on hand, according to Federal Election Commission data.
Gonzales’ committee, Honor Courage Commitment PAC, retained $208,445 – buoyed by repeated five-figure transfers from his joint fundraising committee, the Tony Gonzales Victory Fund.
Gonzales’ PAC donated $144,500 to 28 congressional candidates, either current or former: 14 House incumbents seeking re-election, 11 House challengers, two sitting House members not seeking re-election and one candidate for Senate.
Seven House candidates, all out-of-state GOP incumbents, received the maximum $10,000 – $5,000 each for the primary and general elections. Four were from New York, a key battleground for House control, and others included incumbents in Iowa, Arizona and California. The PAC also sent $10,000 to Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), who has since abandoned his House re-election bid to run for governor.
Its most recent candidate support came Nov. 20, 2025, when the PAC donated $5,000 to Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) – who also is not seeking another term – to pay off a lingering debt.
OpenSecrets contacted the campaigns for each of the eight top recipients, but did not immediately receive any responses.
Remedy PAC’s giving pattern was far smaller and more concentrated. It donated $30,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee – more than it gave to all individual House and Senate candidates combined.
The PAC made $26,826 in contributions to federal candidates: 14 sitting House members, nine House or Senate challengers and a one-time Senate candidate – former Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) – who has since ended that campaign to seek local office. That figure does not include $1,929 in reimbursements made to Swalwell in January 2025 for salary and food and beverages, which are reported separately.
Its most recent contribution was $1,000 to Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) on Dec. 29, 2025. The PAC’s largest beneficiary was Wisconsin Democrat Rebecca Cooke, who received $3,000 in three installments. Cooke, who is challenging Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R), said in an April 12 X post that she is donating the contribution to five charities in the state and would no longer accept Swalwell’s endorsement.
“I’m appalled by the allegations about Eric Swalwell and proud of these women for their courage to come forward,” Cooke said in the post.
Other recipients also gave away their contributions:
- Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), now running for Senate, is donating the $2,000 her campaign received, a campaign spokesperson told OpenSecrets.
- Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, also now a Democratic Senate candidate, is rejecting an endorsement and redirecting his $1,000 contribution from Swalwell to the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault, a campaign representative told OpenSecrets.
- Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.) said in an April 13 X post that he was unaware that his campaign received $2,000 from Swalwell and has since donated it to an Orange County nonprofit serving sexual assault survivors.
Disney trips and compliance fees
Both leadership PACs also reported significant non-candidate expenditures. Leadership PACs generally have wide latitude in their spending; travel and food reimbursements, while common, frequently draw scrutiny because leadership PACs are not subject to the same personal‑use restrictions as campaign committees.
Swalwell’s PAC reported $38,500 in travel expenses, either personal or otherwise. Separately, it paid Disney-related properties roughly $14,667 – a sum that includes nearly $4,997 to Disneyland for fundraising events in January and $9,670 in early 2025 to Walt Disney Parks & Resorts in Burbank, California, and Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, for food and beverages for a campaign event and tickets for a political fundraiser.
Gonzales’ PAC made two large, lump-sum payments to non-candidates:
- $16,150 to the Medina County Republican Party on May 6, 2025.
- $15,000 to the Texas Federation of Republican Women Convention on July 10, 2025.
The PAC also paid Rightside Compliance $26,562 over 15 installments from Jan. 9, 2025, through Feb. 13, for compliance consulting. The email address the PAC used when registering with the FEC is hosted on Rightside Compliance’s domain.
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