WASHINGTON — Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, engaged in sexual relationships with at least two House staffers and his “very flirtatious” habits with others may come back to haunt him, The Post has learned.
The 46-year-old lawmaker admitted to the two relationships — both with aides to Texas Democrats — to one source while a second person said they had recently learned of the romantic entanglements.
A third source confirmed one of the dalliances, both of which are said to have been consensual and occurred during Gallego’s decade representing Phoenix in the House.
The relationships are part of a broader “pattern of mistakes and missteps and judgment calls,” one source said, noting the imbalanced power dynamics of an elected official dating staffers. One of the women was in her 20s and much younger than Gallego at the time.
“What else could there be out there?” this person asked.
Last month, the Senate Ethics Committee dismissed a complaint brought against Gallego by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) that alleged campaign finance violations and sexual misconduct against the Democrat, who was elected to the Senate in 2024.
The panel, chaired by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), “didn’t ask” about Gallego’s relationships with the staffers — likely because it was unaware — and instead “focused squarely on what Luna presented to them,” an insider said this week.
“Ethics looked in the wrong place,” this person summed up the congressional probe.
Gallego’s office and the two House staffers did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
Minutes after this article was published, the senator gave a non-denial to an NBC News journalist on Capitol Hill, uttering, “I’m not going to engage in gossip.”
When asked if The Post’s reporting was accurate, Gallego again said, “I’m not going to engage in gossip.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) sputtered, “I’m not — I’m focused on this right now” when asked by Fox News about Gallego’s conduct.
Sources said it’s believed both relationships occurred while Gallego was unmarried.
Rumors have swirled about Gallego’s personal life following the April resignation of his best friend in Congress, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), amid claims by multiple women that Swalwell sexually harassed or assaulted them. Gallego has denied knowledge of Swalwell’s alleged misconduct.
Luna claimed in a CBS News interview April 16 that a woman was preparing to speak out about an “incident” involving Gallego and Swalwell “at the same time, and the event was sexual in nature, allegedly.”
On April 23, Luna claimed on social media that “I have now heard of 4 women who have had multiple and uncomfortable/inappropriate advances/comments/touching, etc. from Senator Gallego.”
Gallego responded to the Ethics Committee’s dismissal of Luna’s complaint by calling the allegations “right-wing conspiracies peddled by far-right activists like Anna Paulina Luna, the White House, and their allies” and demanding an apology.
“The good news about DC is everyone talks, and eventually the reporters come forward with your texts,” Luna responded in an X post. “Do yourself a favor and keep raising for your legal defense fund. Once a creep always a creep, and you’re gonna need it.”
Gallego married his current wife, Sydney, in June 2021 — three years after they met at the June 2018 Congressional Baseball Game.
He filed for divorce from his first wife, Kate,10 days before Christmas in 2016 when she was nine months pregnant. The divorce was granted in April 2017.
Luna responded to The Post’s report on X: “Time to resign. Glad people are going on record about this creep.”
“This scumbag doesn’t deserve the privilege of representing the people of Arizona,” wrote Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-Ariz.). “Ruben Gallego should follow his buddy Swalwell’s lead and resign.”
Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) added: “Congress needs to step up, do the right thing, and force expulsion.”
Relationships between lawmakers and their own staff members were banned in 2018 and there’s a post-Swalwell push underway to ban relations with all congressional staff.
Sexual encounters between elected representatives and staff from other offices generally are not banned by congressional ethics rules. Other conduct such as sexual harassment is not allowed.
Internal investigations can turn up damaging information.
For example, The Post reported April 18 that Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) — a close friend of Gallego and Swalwell and the third member of their so-called “Cool Kids Clique” — was spotted kissing a Swalwell aide at a DC house party in the summer of 2023.
Gomez confessed in June to cheating on his wife after CNN reported that the House Ethics Committee “learned of other allegations of sexual misconduct” against him while investigating the initial Post report.
“If the Ethics Committee comes back and says, ‘We are opening an investigation,’ question one [for Gallego] is: ‘Did you ever have relationships with any staff member during your time in Congress?’” a source said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more that he has to list, and he can’t lie about that because, you know, it’s a sworn [statement].”
A Democratic operative who has interacted with Gallego said she found news of the staffer relationships “not surprising.”
“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.”
There’s a long, bipartisan tradition of members of Congress having personal baggage. “Pro-life” Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.) has been re-elected repeatedly despite the revelations in 2023 that he had urged abortions for both his ex-wife and mistress.
Many members of Congress resign in the face of sexual scandals, however, including former Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.), who stepped down in 2019 due to a relationship with a campaign aide.
Earlier this year, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) resigned over an affair with a district staffer who killed herself.
In addition to the senator’s personal life, Gallego faces another headache in the form of a Justice Department investigation into his alleged misuse of campaign funds to attend the Super Bowl in 2023 as well as to take vacations to St. Barts, Disney World and Disneyland. Gallego said the Trump DOJ was “targeting” him for political reasons.
Despite the controversies, another Democratic insider told The Post Gallego still hopes to occupy the Oval Office someday.
“He wants to, but it’s getting harder,” this source said. “If he changes his behavior and actually locks in, he could do it. It would be hard. But I don’t see it right now. It’s unfortunate.”
