Apr. 12, 2026, 9:01 PM EDT

Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out of the Democratic primary for California governor on Sunday night after detailed accusations of sexual assault and misconduct doomed his once successful campaign — and led his closest allies and aides to demand he bow out.

“I am suspending my campaign for Governor,” Swalwell said in a statement posted on social media.“To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”

The damning allegations brought by a former aide against the congressman sparked a criminal investigation in New York City and threatened the one-time presidential candidate’s political future.

By Sunday, several Democratic lawmakers — including fellow members of the California congressional delegation — had called on Swalwell to not just end his campaign for governor, but resign from Congress.

“There must be accountability with both House Ethics and law enforcement about the sexual assault, and Eric Swalwell should resign,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said Sunday.

Several Democrats suggested they would support an expulsion effort if Republicans would take down one of their own: Rep. Tony Gonzalez of Texas, who is under a House ethics investigation for alleged sexual misconduct with an aide who died by suicide.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, announced her effort to push an expulsion resolution against Swalwell, saying, “I am not going to serve with these sexual deviants, that is not what Congress is about.”

Swalwell vehemently denied the accusationsfirst reported by the San Francisco Chronicle Friday, and disregarded calls from prominent California Democrats, including his two campaign co-chairs, Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Adam Gray, to drop out of the race.

“These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They are absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened,” Swalwell said in a video address posted to social media after the reports were made public. “And I will fight them with everything that I have.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose district spans much of San Francisco, called for Swalwell to relinquish the race while key backers withdrew their endorsements and his campaign effectively suspended its operations.

It was unclear which of the candidates in the crowded Democratic primary to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a term-limited Democrat who is seen as a 2028 presidential contender, would gain the backing of the Democratic establishment.

MS NOW spoke with the woman at the center of the allegations, a former Swalwell staff member, who confirmed that she made the sexual assault allegations first reported by the Chronicle and later by CNN, which citedthree other women alleging various kinds of sexual misconduct by Swalwell.

The main accuser, who has not been publicly identified and worked for Swalwell for nearly two years, said she had sexual encounters while he was her boss. She said he sexually assaulted her on two occasions when she was too intoxicated to consent, the Chronicle reported. The former aide confirmed to MS NOW that she made the sexual assault allegations.

Her former colleagues supported her and condemned Swalwell.

“We stand with our former colleague, and the other women who have come forward. We believe you should stand with them, too,” the California lawmaker’s gubernatorial and congressional staff wrote in a joint letter issued over the weekend. “The behavior detailed in these reports is abhorrent, beneath the dignity of those serving in public office and betrays the trust of all Californians.”

Sydney Carruth is a breaking news reporter covering national politics and policy for MS NOW. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at SydneyCarruth.46 or follow her work on X and Bluesky.

Apr. 12, 2026, 3:53 PM EDT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbánconceded defeat on Sunday after what he called a ″painful″ election resultending 16 years in power for a powerful figure in the far-right movement allied with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Partial official results show opposition leader Peter Magyar’s party dominating the vote, in a bombshell election result with repercussions around Europe and beyond. ‘’Thank you, Hungary!” Magyar posted on X, as thousands of his supporters thronged the banks of the Danube in Budapest.

Across town, Orban told his followers that “I congratulated the victorious party.”

“We are going to serve the Hungarian nation and our homeland from opposition as well,” he said.

With 60% of the vote counted, Magyar’s Tisza party had more than 52% support to 38% for Orbán’s governing Fidesz party. That proportion will change as more votes are counted.

It’s a major blow for Orbán, the European Union’s longest-serving leader and one of its biggest antagonists, who has traveled a long road from his early days as a liberal, anti-Soviet firebrand to the Russia-friendly nationalist admired todayby the global far-right.

The parties of both Orbán and Magyar said they had received reports of electoral violations, suggesting some results could be disputed by both sides.

Voters showed up in droves

Turnout by 6:30 p.m. was over 77%, according to the National Election Office, a record number in any election in Hungary’s post-Communist history.

“I’m asking our supporters and all Hungarians: Let’s stay peaceful, cheerful, and if the results confirm our expectations, let’s throw a big, Hungarian carnival,” Magyar said.

Orbán’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, said the record high turnout showed that “Hungarian democracy is extremely strong.”

‘Choice between East or West’

Orbán has repeatedly frustrated EU efforts to support Ukraine in its war against Russia’s full-scale invasion, while cultivating close ties to President Vladimir Putin and refusing to end Hungary’s dependence on Russian fossil fuel imports.

Recent revelations have shown a top member of his government frequently shared the contents of EU discussions with Moscow, raising accusations that Hungary was acting on Russia’s behalf within the bloc.

The election was closely watched in countries around Europeand beyond, which is a testament to the outsize role Orbán occupies in far-right populist politics worldwide.

Members of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement are among those who see Orbán’s government and his Fidesz political party as shining examplesof conservative, anti-globalist politics in action, while he is reviled by advocates of liberal democracyand the rule of law.

After casting his vote, Magyar told reporters that the election was “a choice between East or West, propaganda or honest public discourse, corruption or clean public life.”

Casting his ballot in Budapest, Marcell Mehringer, 21, said he was voting “primarily so that Hungary will finally be a so-called European country, and so that young people, and really everyone, will do their fundamental civic duty to unite this nation a bit and to break down these boundaries borne of hatred.”

Strained relationship with the EU

During his 16 years as prime minister, Orbán has launched harsh crackdowns on minority rightsand media freedomssubverted many of Hungary’s institutions and been accused of siphoning large sums of money into the coffers of his allied business elite, an allegation he denies.

He also has heavily strained Hungary’s relationship with the EU. Although Hungary is one of the smaller EU countries, with a population of 9.5 million, Orbán has repeatedly used his veto to block decisions that require unanimity.

Most recently, he blocked a 90-billion euro ($104 billion) EU loanto Ukraine, prompting his partners to accuse him of hijacking the critical aid.

Serious challenger on the rise

Magyar rapidly rose to become Orbán’s most serious challenger. The 45-year-old leader of the center-right Tisza party, which led in independent polls, campaigned on issues affecting ordinary voters including Hungary’s faltering public health care and transportation sectors and what he describes as rampant government corruption.

A former insider within Orbán’s Fidesz, Magyar broke with the party in 2024 and quickly formed Tisza. Since then, he has toured Hungary relentlessly, holding rallies in settlements big and smallin a campaign blitz that recently had him visiting up to six towns daily.

In an interview with The Associated Pressearlier this month, Magyar said the election will be a “referendum” on whether Hungary continues on its drift toward Russia under Orbán, or can retake its place among the democratic societies of Europe.

Tisza won 30% of the vote in European Parliament elections in 2024, and Magyar took a seat as an EU lawmaker. Tisza is a member of the European People’s Party, the mainstream, center-right political family with leaders governing 12 of the EU’s 27 nations.

Uphill election battle

Magyar and Tisza face a tough fight. Orbán’s control of Hungary’s public media, which he has transformed into a mouthpiece for his party, and vast swaths of the private media market give him an advantage in spreading his message.

The unilateral transformation of Hungary’s electoral system and gerrymandering of its 106 voting districts by Fidesz also will require Tisza to gain an estimated 5% more votes than Orbán’s party to achieve a simple majority.

Additionally, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries had the right to vote in Hungarian elections and traditionally have voted overwhelmingly for Orbán’s party.

Fidesz and Tisza both have launched platforms for reporting irregularities, accusing their opponents of planning to commit election abuses.

Russian secret services have plotted to interfere and tip the election in Orbán’s favor, according to numerous media reports including by The Washington Post. The prime minister, however, has accused neighboring Ukraineas well as Hungary’s allies in the EU, of seeking to interfere in the vote to install a “pro-Ukraine” government.

Such accusations are part of why many in the EU see Orbán as a danger to the bloc’s future.

But across the Atlantic, Trump and his MAGA movement are all-in for another Orbán term. Trump has repeatedly endorsed the Hungarian leader and U.S. Vice President JD Vance made a two-day visit to Hungarylast week meant to help push Orbán over the finish line.

Apr. 12, 2026, 10:53 AM EDT

After peace talks with Iran broke downPresident Donald Trump on Sunday ordered a U.S. military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and said if Iranians fire on any ships they “will be BLOWN TO HELL!”

“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” the president said in a Truth Social post.

U.S. Central Command confirmed later on Sunday that military forces will blockade all Iranian ports beginning Monday at 10 a.m. ET. Ships traveling between non-Iranian ports will still be able to move through the strait, but the blockade will otherwise be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations,” according to CENTCOM.

But the president also said Sunday he expected Iran will rejoin negotiations to end the war.

In an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Trump was asked about his controversial statement on April 7, when he threatened to destroy Iran’s “whole civilization.”

“That statement got them to the bargaining table,” Trump said, adding, “They haven’t left the bargaining table. I predict they come back and they give us everything we want.”

Trump’s announcement about the U.S. blockade of the strait comes after the United States and Iran failed to reach a deal after 21 hours of face-to-face negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, this weekend. Trump said the ceasefire struck last week is contingent on Iran reopening the vital sea route for the world’s oil and gas and other essential supplies.

The president said in his social media announcement that he has instructed the Navy to “seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.” He said the blockade “will begin shortly.”

Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation to the peace talks, told reporters Sunday morning before leaving Pakistan that the U.S. gave Iran their “final and best offer” — suggesting, perhaps, negotiations will resume.

While Vance declined to elaborate on why the talks brown down, Trump said Sunday that “most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not.”

“That country will not have nuclear weapons,” he said on Fox News.

Two U.S. military warships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday for the first time since the war began as part of a military operation to clear the vital passageway of mines that were laid by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits,” Trump said Sunday on Truth Social. “Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!”

Other key figures lamented the failed talks. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who mediated several rounds of talks, called them “intense and constructive” and reaffirmed his country’s commitment to facilitate a deal.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, who acted as a mediator before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, said he hopes its not the end of negotiations.

“When I met Vice President Vance just hours before the war began, I formed an impression that both he and the President had a genuine and strong preference to avoid the entanglements of war,” Al Busaidi said. “So I urge that the ceasefire be extended and talks continue. Success may require.”

Others were less optimistic.

“It is hard to see talks continuing, let along concluding with a deal, without some give on both ends,” said Rob Malley, who led U.S. negotiations with Iran during the Obama administration. “And the problem is the two parties believe they have the upper hand, and a party with an upper hand is not really of a mind to be giving.”

David Rohde contributed to this report.

Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.