Eric Swalwell’s finances show cash crunch, delayed taxes, large child care tab
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell’s child care expenditures. The total expenditure is roughly $244,000.
Rep. Eric Swalwell and his wife consistently brought in an income in the top 5% of Washington, D.C., households from 2021 to 2024 but made cash-raising moves anyway: drawing down retirement accounts, delaying federal tax payments and spending heavily on child care through campaign funds, according to tax returns and campaign finance filings.
The returns show Swalwell, one of several leading candidates for California governor, and his wife, Brittany Swalwell, took home an average income of more than $444,000 during the period. That income would place them among the top 5% of households in Washington, D.C., where the couple owns a $1.2 million home; Swalwell also rents a room in a Livermore house owned by another family, The Sacramento Bee reported last month.
A portion of that income came from the nearly $145,000 the couple withdrew from their retirement accounts from 2020 to 2022. Eric Swalwell also zeroed out withholdings on his congressional salary in 2023 and withheld just $2,580 the year before, effectively delaying payment of his federal taxes in a move that incurred penalties.
Swalwell’s congressional salary rose from $161,648 in 2021 to $184,229 in 2024. He supplemented the salary with self-employment described in the returns as “Administrative Office Work” from 2022 to 2024, earning up to $32,000; on other disclosures, Swalwell says the income came from an LLC linked to Spycraft Entertainment, “a global production company run by former senior intelligence officers from the U.S. and U.K.”
Brittany Swalwell, who has a background in the hospitality industry, drew salaries of around $200,000 to $250,000 during that same period, with employers shifting over time: Evolution Hospitality in 2021, the Swalwell Remedy Group from 2022 to 2024 and Rockbridge Capital from 2023 to 2024.
Swalwell also used campaign funds to pay for child care for his three children at a rate far higher than anyone else in the House of Representatives, including nearly $60,000 in 2022 alone.
It’s not clear why Swalwell, who built a national brand as one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal critics, made the financial moves to free up cash. House disclosures show Swalwell has owed between $50,000 and $100,000 on student loans for more than a decade; his most recent paperwork shows the family holds between $15,000 and $50,000 in credit card liabilities apiece for Chase and American Express. The loan for the family’s D.C. abode is listed between $1 million and $5 million.
In a statement, campaign spokesperson Micah Beasley said the tax returns differentiated Swalwell from Tom Steyer, a billionaire rival who, alongside former Rep. Katie Porter, has polled neck-and-neck with Swalwell in the crowded gubernatorial primary. All three Democrats were tied at 10% in a California Democratic Party poll released last week, behind Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco.
“Unlike others in this race, Congressman Eric Swalwell is not a billionaire,” Beasley said. “He is a working parent raising three young children with his wife while serving in public office. Like millions of Californians, they balance mortgage payments, student loans, child care and everyday expenses.”
Steyer has also faced scrutiny over his returns; The Sacramento Bee reported last week that the environmentalist took in tens of millions of dollars from selling private equity funds, some of which were based offshore, despite criticizing the industry on the campaign trail.
Beasley said Swalwell’s tax returns “mirror those of a typical middle-class Californian, in stark contrast to the candidates who have used offshore tax strategies, benefited from investments structured to minimize taxes and have a documented history of incomplete financial disclosures — all while campaigning on making others ‘pay their fair share.’”
Still, Swalwell, D-Dublin, got other help with expenses that few other Californians can access. He’s used campaign funds to pay for more than $244,000 in child care expenses from 2019 to 2025 — the highest total in the House, and more than three times the amount spent by the next highest lawmaker. Paying for child care is permitted under federal election rules.
Swalwell has also drawn from his official House spending account to reimburse himself for an average of $1,625 in monthly lodging expenses since January 2023. Many members of Congress have made similar use of those funds since House rules expanded to allow the expenditures, a move made to help members afford homes in both their districts and in D.C.
Swalwell’s congressional campaign committee spent nearly $25,000 on Uber Eats since Jan. 1, 2020 — more than any other member of Congress — and was second to only House Majority Leader Steve Scalise in overall Uber spending during that period, paying out more than $105,000 to the ride-hailing company. In both cases, spending by campaign staff may also count toward those totals.
This year’s governor’s race is different. Swalwell has won endorsements from major unions such as SEIU and the California Teachers Association as well as politicians including U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, but has yet to break out of the crowded race in polls.
Swalwell may have gotten a boost last week from FBI Director Kash Patel, a close Trump ally, who is reportedly working to publicly release an investigation into a suspected Chinese spy who assisted Swalwell with fundraising more than a decade ago. Swalwell has never been accused of wrongdoing, and his lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to Patel on Monday.
Swalwell has campaigned heavily on the news since the Washington Post first reported it on Saturday, arguing that it proves Trump and his allies are working to stop his campaign—a message that some political analysts say could boost his fortunes among California Democrats who prioritize thwarting Trump’s agenda.
This story was originally published April 1, 2026 at 3:03 PM.
