Former congressman Eric Swalwell billed more than 100 alcohol delivery purchases to his campaign accounts over a four-year stretch beginning in 2020, spending roughly $6,100 through the app Drizly, and that was only the beginning of what federal filings reveal about how the California Democrat spent donor money.

The Federal Election Commission reported that Swalwell was responsible for about 25 percent of all political spending with Drizly since 2019. That single statistic, drawn from federal campaign disclosures, captures the scale of a spending pattern that now sits alongside sexual misconduct allegations, a law enforcement investigation, and the wreckage of a once-promising political career.

The Daily Mail reported that a 135-page FEC filing covering expenses between January 1 and March 31 showed "Swalwell for Congress" spent $76,900 in the first three months of the year alone, after Swalwell had already dropped out of the California governor's race in November. The filing details a sprawling list of charges: airlines, internet services, gifts, food delivery, and payments to individuals tied to his household.

The Las Vegas tab and the Drizly trail

In July 2021, Swalwell visited the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas three times during a 10-day trip. Campaign funds covered the stays. He used Drizly on several occasions during that stretch and charged his campaign nearly $600 for two steakhouse dinners. The New York Post reported the trip cost more than $3,100 in total, all drawn from campaign accounts.

When Drizly shut down in 2024, the delivery spending did not stop. It shifted. Swalwell's congressional campaigns turned to Uber Eats, racking up more than 220 orders totaling over $19,000 in charges. The filing includes over 80 pages of charges exclusively for Uber and Uber Eats. The filings do not specify whether those deliveries were food or alcohol.

Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson told the Post:

"In this case, the sheer number of alcohol purchases can raise some questions about whether the campaign funds were being used for a proper purpose."

That is a polite way of framing what the numbers suggest. A quarter of all political Drizly spending in the country, attributed to one man's campaigns, is not a rounding error. It is a pattern.

Luxury spending long predates the current scandal

The alcohol deliveries are only one thread. Fox News reported that FEC records showed Swalwell's campaign spent tens of thousands of dollars on limousine services, luxury hotels, high-end restaurants, and alcohol-related purchases. The campaign paid more than $10,000 on 26 rides from limousine and luxury car services and roughly $26,000 on luxury hotels.

More than $20,000 of that hotel spending went to the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, where Swalwell's wife, Brittany Watts, previously worked as director of sales. That detail, drawn from her LinkedIn profile, adds another layer of concern about how campaign dollars flowed through the Swalwell household.

Swalwell is no stranger to controversy. His ties to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative drew national scrutiny and calls for transparency from FBI leadership.

Breitbart noted that earlier FEC filings also showed $566 in Drizly charges and $1,151 at Capitol Hill Wine and Spirits. As Fox News observed at the time, "it is not clear that the seven charges at the Capitol Hill liquor store and nine Drizly charges were campaign related."

The nanny payments and post-campaign spending

The latest filing revealed multiple receipts made out to Amanda Barbosa, described as Swalwell's Brazilian nanny, who received thousands of dollars in campaign finance funds in the first quarter of 2026. FEC records previously reviewed by the Daily Mail indicated Barbosa received $46,930 in funds in 2022. NOTUS estimated that Swalwell's campaign paid a total of $72,000 in childcare expenses throughout 2025.

FEC rules allow campaign funds to cover childcare expenses, but only if a candidate is actively running for office. Swalwell exited the governor's race in November. The filing covers spending from January 1 to March 31, months after he was no longer a candidate. The FEC says leftover funds may be used for "winding down costs," including moving expenses, gifts, and charitable donations. Whether ongoing nanny payments qualify as winding-down costs is an open question the filings do not answer.

Swalwell and Watts are also reportedly being investigated for employing Barbosa after her temporary work authorization allegedly expired. The status and jurisdiction of that inquiry remain unclear.

The filing also included some smaller but telling charges: $273 to See's Candles for gifts, $186 to Spoonful of Comfort, a Salt Lake City shop that sends care packages of chicken noodle soup, and $637 to Cook Construction LLC on March 18 for internet and television services. Multiple charges for Google LLC, Zoom, and Apple round out what reads less like a campaign wind-down and more like a household budget.

It is worth noting that Swalwell has not been formally accused of misusing campaign funds. But the gap between what the rules allow and what the filings show is wide enough to drive a limousine through.

Sexual misconduct allegations and a law enforcement probe

The spending revelations land at the worst possible moment for the former congressman. At least five women have accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct. Lonna Drewes, described as a former model and fashion software company owner, accused Swalwell of rape in a news conference on Tuesday.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement that its Special Victims Bureau would be investigating the matter. Swalwell has denied the allegations but apologized for what he called "mistakes in judgment."

His former chief of staff, Alex Evans, offered no such hedge. Evans told the Post: "He knew exactly what he was doing."

Women accusing Swalwell of misconduct described incidents in which he became increasingly aggressive after drinking, linking the spending pattern documented in FEC records to the broader allegations now surrounding him.

Even former allies are walking away. Senator Ruben Gallego, once a Swalwell supporter, told reporters:

"Eric Swalwell lied to all of us. He lied to the most powerful people in this country, and they trusted him."

Gallego added: "That clouded my judgment." When a fellow Democrat says that publicly, the political isolation is complete.

Swalwell's record of controversy stretches back further than most voters realize. His college-era writings surfaced in prior reporting, raising questions about his judgment long before he reached Congress.

A pattern the system enabled

Campaign finance law gives former officeholders wide latitude over leftover funds. That latitude exists for legitimate reasons, office closures, staff severance, final obligations. But the system relies on good faith. When one man's campaigns account for a quarter of all political alcohol-delivery spending on an entire platform, the system is not working as intended.

Swalwell is not the only lawmaker to face scrutiny over campaign spending. An ethics complaint alleged Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spent $19,000 in campaign funds on a ketamine therapist, drawing similar questions about where legitimate campaign expenses end and personal spending begins.

The FEC filing is 135 pages long. Over 80 of those pages are Uber and Uber Eats charges. Thousands went to a nanny months after the candidate stopped running. Tens of thousands went to luxury hotels, including one where his wife worked. And through it all, donors presumably believed their money was advancing a political cause.

Swalwell also drew attention during his time in Congress for his combative posture in House hearings, where he lectured officials on accountability. The filings now raise the question of who was holding him accountable.

Donors gave their money to fund a campaign. The filings suggest it funded a lifestyle. That distinction matters, and it is one the FEC, law enforcement, and the public are now in a position to examine closely.

When the chicken noodle soup care packages show up on the same ledger as the steakhouse dinners and the alcohol deliveries, the filing tells its own story. No editorial is required.