Washington had a crew. They called it the Cool Kids Clique — Rep. Eric Swalwell, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, and Rep. Ruben Gallego, three House Democrats who were close friends and frequent companions on the Hill. In April, Swalwell resigned after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment and assault. Gomez confessed to cheating on his wife after a House Ethics probe turned up additional sexual misconduct allegations against him. Now comes the New York Post with a report on Gallego — and the pattern is complete.
Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego had sexual relationships with two congressional staffers over a period spanning nearly a decade, according to a New York Post investigation. Both worked for Texas Democrats in the House. One of the women was in her 20s — significantly younger than Gallego — at the time. Multiple sources confirmed the relationships. Gallego himself admitted them to at least one source. And sources are already asking a pointed question: "What else could there be out there?"
Gallego's public response, when an NBC News journalist asked him directly whether the Post's reporting was accurate: "I'm not going to engage in gossip." Asked again. "I'm not going to engage in gossip."
That is not a denial. That is a man who already confirmed the relationships to a source calling documented reporting gossip to a television camera.
If the behavior itself weren't enough, the people who know Gallego aren't surprised by it. A Democratic operative — not a Republican, a Democrat — told the Post she found the news "not surprising at all." "I have witnessed firsthand his very flirtatious nature after a couple of drinks," she said. "Maybe he thinks he's being charming? I don't know. Guy gives me the creeps. I've always steered clear."
The timeline of Gallego's personal life adds context the senator would rather not discuss. In December 2016, he filed for divorce from his first wife, Kate — ten days before Christmas, while she was nine months pregnant. He married his current wife, Sydney, in December 2019.
Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, who has been sounding the alarm on Gallego for months, has publicly claimed she's heard from four women who described "uncomfortable/inappropriate advances, comments, touching" from the senator. Luna also stated in an April CBS News interview that a woman was preparing to speak publicly about an incident involving both Gallego and Swalwell simultaneously that was "sexual in nature, allegedly." Gallego has denied knowledge of Swalwell's alleged conduct and has not addressed Luna's broader claims.
The Senate Ethics Committee investigated and dismissed a complaint Luna filed — but here's the detail the Gallego camp isn't advertising: the committee "didn't ask" about the staffer relationships because it likely didn't know they existed. As one insider put it bluntly: "Ethics looked in the wrong place." The committee focused narrowly on what Luna had presented — campaign finance issues and specific misconduct — and missed the relationships entirely.
Gallego celebrated the dismissal as total vindication. On X he declared the allegations were "right-wing conspiracies peddled by far-right activists like Anna Paulina Luna" and demanded an apology from her for "weaponizing the ethics process."
Luna's response: "The good news about DC is everyone talks, and eventually the reporters come forward with your texts. Do yourself a favor and keep raising for your legal defense fund. Once a creep, always a creep, and you're gonna need it."
Sources watching the Ethics Committee closely note what happens if the investigation is reopened. "Question one would be: 'Did you ever have relationships with any staff member during your time in Congress?'" one source told the Post. "I wouldn't be surprised if there are more that he has to list — and he can't lie about that because it's a sworn statement."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, asked by Fox News about his senator's conduct, said: "I'm not — I'm focused on this right now" and pivoted to the president's primetime address. The man who runs Senate Democrats couldn't find ten seconds to answer.
The Democratic Party has established a clear standard on exactly this situation. They forced Al Franken out of the Senate. Former Rep. Katie Hill resigned in 2019 over a relationship with a campaign aide. The party wrote the playbook on power differentials in the workplace, held hearings on it, enforced it — when convenient. Ruben Gallego watched all of that. He is now asking to be exempt from it.
His team will note that the relationships were reportedly consensual and that he was unmarried when they occurred. "Didn't violate Senate rules" is the floor for acceptable behavior in public office, not the ceiling. Congressional staffers — regardless of which office employs them — know what it means to navigate a world where members of Congress hold enormous influence over careers, references, and futures.
There is also the matter of what Gallego wants next. Despite all of this, sources tell the Post the senator still has his eye on the White House in 2028. "He wants to," one Democratic insider said. "But it's getting harder. I don't see it right now."
The staffer relationships aren't his only headache. A Justice Department investigation is separately examining alleged misuse of campaign funds to attend the Super Bowl in 2023 and take vacations to St. Barts, Disney World, and Disneyland. Gallego says the Trump DOJ is targeting him for political reasons.
The Cool Kids Clique is now down to one. All three members have sexual misconduct questions hanging over them. One resigned. One confessed. The third is calling it gossip and demanding an apology.