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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., declined to weigh in on the latest scandal to hit a member of his party, instead focusing on his planned diatribe against President Donald Trump’s primetime address Thursday.
The New York Post reported that Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., engaged in sexual relationships with at least two Democratic House staffers who did not work for him while he was a member of the House. According to House rules, members are not barred from having relationships with staffers who work outside their office.
Sources told the outlet it was believed the relationships happened while the lawmaker was unmarried.
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When asked to weigh in on the latest scandal involving Gallego, Schumer mentioned his planned speech railing against Trump’s scheduled address on foreign interference in the 2020 election Thursday night and told Fox News Digital, “I’m not — I’m focused on this right now.”
It’s the latest bad headline to hit Gallego, who has been in the conversation for a 2028 presidential bid. The Post reported that Gallego admitted to the two relationships, which were both with aides to Texas Democrats.
When asked by reporters about the allegations, Gallego said, “I’m not going to engage in gossip.”
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Gallego’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.
Gallego has come under scrutiny for his relationship with former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned from the House earlier this year after being accused by several women of sexual assault, rape and harassment.
Swalwell has vehemently denied the allegations.
Gallego moved to quickly distance himself from Swalwell and argued their tight-knit relationship “clouded my judgment,” regarding rumors that swirled about the ex-lawmaker for years in Washington, D.C.
He also reportedly hired former President Joe Biden’s former deputy press secretary to handle crisis communications in the ensuing fallout from Swalwell and a now-dismissed Senate Ethics probe.
SENATOR GALLEGO SAYS LONGTIME FRIENDSHIP WITH SWALWELL ‘CLOUDED MY JUDGMENT’ AS RUMORS SWIRLED IN DC
That probe, which centered on a complaint from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., that alleged Gallego committed sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations, was tossed out by the Senate Ethics Committee last month.
Gallego said in a statement at the time that the Ethics Committee’s decision “reaffirms what I have said about these accusations from the beginning: they were right-wing conspiracies peddled by far-right activists like Anna Paulina Luna, the White House and their allies.”
Luna quickly weighed in on the latest allegation, charging on X, “‘Conspiracy theories,’ right, [Sen. Ruben Gallego]?”
“Time to resign. Glad people are going on record about this creep,” she said.
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