by Staff Reporter | Apr 15, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Rep. Abraham Hamadeh (R-AZ-08) formalized the resignation of now-former California congressman Eric Swalwell on Tuesday.
Hamadeh acted in accordance with a provision of the House Rules requiring the Speaker or his designee to announce the House membership adjustment on the floor.
Since the initial sexual assault allegations against Swalwell broke last week, at least five other women have come forward claiming wrongdoing by Swalwell ranging from sexual harassment to rape.
Arizona politico Brian Anderson remarked on the difference between Arizona members’ circumstance in relation to the Swalwell fallout: Hamadeh stepping in for the House Speaker to finalize Swalwell’s rushed exit, and Sen. Ruben Gallego defending himself against accusations of his knowledge or participation in Swalwell’s impropriety.
“Pretty shocking split-screen for Arizonans right now,” said Anderson. “On one side, Ruben Gallego shaking and stuttering, defending himself against credible allegations he knew about Swalwell. On the other, Abraham Hamadeh putting the final nail in Swalwell’s career.”
Gallego’s decade-long friendship with Swalwell has put him in the center of the former California gubernatorial candidate’s fallout.
Social media users and influencers have speculated that the mystery man in a now-viral video depicting Swalwell getting intimate with a young woman on a bed was Gallego.
During a Monday press gaggle, Gallego denied that he was the man in the video. He blamed “right-wing, political operatives” for the popularization of the narrative.
“This is an example of the lies. No, I was not sitting next to him, I was not in the room, I don’t even know where it happened,” said Gallego.
Gallego said he, too, was a victim of Swalwell. He claimed innocence of knowledge, saying Swalwell had led a “double life” and lied to him about the allegations.
“Look, I messed up. I’m human. I trusted this man, I trusted him to watch my children. I would watch his children,” said Gallego. “He knew that I had just gone through the most bruising campaign, where I was accused of being a mule for the cartel, where my kids were subjected to TV commercials about what an awful human being I was; he knew how to prey on that. I was a loyal friend to someone that was just not loyal to me.”
However, Gallego also indicated that he knew of rumors of his former friend’s flirtatiousness over the years, but had dismissed them based on his personal interactions with Swalwell and Swalwell’s wife.
“I heard rumors of him being flirty [for years],” said Gallego. “We all heard rumors in Washington, D.C.”
Gallego said he had never engaged in inappropriate behavior with any woman outside of his marriage. He claimed Swalwell lied to him and manipulated him.
Former New York congressman George Santos accused Gallego of being one of a number of U.S. House and Senate members to engage in sexual romps up the hill. Santos alleged Gallego’s behavior was “the worst-kept secret” at the Capitol.
“There is an AZ senator that needs to be looked into ASAP,” said Santos in another post. “The rumors about him have alway[s] been WILD.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Apr 15, 2026 | Economy, News
By Matthew Holloway |
A new report from the Common Sense Institute finds that rising costs for housing, groceries, insurance, and child care continue to strain affordability for Arizona families, even as inflation has cooled from its post-pandemic peak.
According to CSI’s latest affordability rankings, Arizona is now the seventh least affordable state in the nation and ranks 45th overall when comparing household incomes to the cost of essential expenses. The state has fallen 12 spots in affordability since 2019, but remains more affordable than Florida, Oregon, New York, Massachusetts, and California, which ranked 46th through 50th, respectively.
CSI’s analysis found that Arizona households retain about 19.6% of their gross income after paying for taxes and basic expenses such as shelter, groceries, health insurance, car insurance, gasoline, and child care. That amounts to about $1,700 per month left over, compared to the national average of 24.7% ($2,170 per month).
The report found that Arizona households are spending about $19,300 more per year on essential expenses than they did in 2019, exceeding the national average increase of $15,400. CSI estimates that Arizona households have effectively lost 3.8% of their gross income to rising prices since before the pandemic.
Housing costs have continued to be the primary cause of affordability challenges in the state. According to a recent report, shelter and utility costs for Arizona households rose by $9,012 annually between 2019 and 2025, a 59% increase that ranked as the fourth-largest increase in the country. Arizona also experienced some of the nation’s fastest-growing grocery and car insurance costs during the same period.
CSI reported that grocery costs rose by $3,375, child care costs by $3,950, health insurance costs by $1,302, car insurance costs by $1,355, and gasoline costs by $313 between 2019 and 2025.
The report found that child care remains a major expense for working families. In Arizona, one full-time working parent must devote about 38% of their gross income to cover child care costs, slightly below the national average of roughly 40%. Nationally, CSI estimated that the average household spends about 16.9% of gross income on child care for preschool- and school-aged children.
“Inflation reports may show things are cooling, but that doesn’t mean life is getting more affordable for Arizonans,” said Zachary Milne, Senior Economist and Research Analyst for the Common Sense Institute AZ. “Our analysis shows the cost of everyday essentials is still significantly higher than it was before the pandemic, and for many families, incomes haven’t kept pace. That gap is what continues to drive the affordability challenges we’re seeing across Arizona today.”
CSI noted that inflation in the Phoenix area has moderated in recent months, with consumer prices rising 2.2% year over year in December. However, according to CSI’s Arizona inflation update, prices in the Phoenix metro area remain 28.9% higher than they were in December 2019, resulting in an additional $1,441 in average monthly costs for a typical Arizona household.
Arizona households are also carrying greater debt, coupled with declining credit scores and rising delinquency rates, at levels significantly higher than the national average, according to CSI’s April 1 report.
CSI detailed its data sources and methodology on its website.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Ethan Faverino | Apr 15, 2026 | News
By Ethan Faverino |
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen has filed a new legal brief in the case of Doe v. Sheridan, urging the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold Arizona’s sex offender registration and monitoring laws, which are designed to protect children and families across the state.
The filing comes after a significant victory at the trial court level, where a federal judge rejected constitutional challenges and upheld Arizona’s lifetime registration and reporting requirements for convicted sex offenders.
The plaintiff, a convicted sex offender who pleaded guilty to crimes involving a minor and accepted lifetime probation and registration as part of the plea agreement, is now appealing the decision in an effort to weaken the state’s ability to track and monitor potential threats.
At issue is Arizona’s requirement that convicted sex offenders provide law enforcement with updated information, including online identifiers used on social media and other internet platforms. These provisions enable authorities to investigate crimes more effectively, deter repeat offenses, and safeguard communities from future harm.
“We already prevailed in federal court because Arizona’s law is constitutional and serves a clear public safety purpose,” stated Petersen. “These requirements give law enforcement the ability to track convicted offenders, investigate crimes, and prevent future harm. Weakening those safeguards does not make anyone safer; it only makes it easier for offenders to operate without oversight.”
When Attorney General Kris Mayes declined to defend the law in court, the Arizona Legislature intervened to protect these critical public safety measures. The trial court ultimately ruled in favor of the state, affirming that the registration requirements are constitutional and serve a vital public safety purpose.
“It is deeply concerning that Arizona’s Attorney General has chosen not to defend this law,” added Petersen. “When the state refuses to stand behind its own laws, especially those designed to protect children, the Legislature has a duty to act. We will continue defending these protections to ensure Arizona families are not left exposed.”
The Ninth Circuit will now review the case and decide whether to affirm the lower court’s ruling, preserving Arizona’s sex offender monitoring laws.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Apr 14, 2026 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
A new report from the Goldwater Institute alleges that Arizona’s public universities are not complying with state requirements to provide students with instruction in American civics, history, and economics. The findings follow previous Goldwater reports examining the integration of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion content into both honors and American civics courses.
The report, titled “Civic Decline: Arizona’s Public Universities Smuggle DEI into Required American Civics Courses,” examines how the state’s three public universities are implementing the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) American Institutions policy within their general education programs.
The policy requires universities to incorporate coursework covering key areas of American civics, explicitly stating:
“The study of American Institutions will include at minimum (I) how the history of the United States continues to shape the present; (II) the basic principles of American constitutional democracy and how they are applied under a republican form of government; (III) the United States Constitution and major American constitutional debates and developments; (IV) the essential founding documents and how they have shaped the nature and functions of American Institutions of self-governance; (V) landmark Supreme Court cases that have shaped law and society; (VI) the civic actions necessary for effective citizenship and civic participation in a self-governing society – for example civil dialog and civil disagreement; and (VII) basic economic knowledge to critically assess public policy options and to inform professional and personal decisions.”
The report asserts that some universities are allowing courses outside of traditional civics instruction to satisfy those requirements.
Timothy Minella, director of higher education policy at the Goldwater Institute and the report’s author, said universities are not meeting the intent of the requirement.
“Arizona’s public universities are failing students by allowing niche courses steeped in DEI to satisfy the state’s robust history and civics requirements,” Minella said in a statement released with the report.
At Arizona State University, Minella states that courses such as “Anthropology of American Democracy,” “Social Welfare, Work, and Justice in the US,” and “Theatre and U.S. Democracy” are being used to meet civics requirements.
He argues that the first course, “ ‘Anthropology of American Democracy,’ fails to meet AMIT requirements and instead centers on the claim that American society oppresses certain groups.”
“The syllabus states that the course ‘emphasizes the relationship between personal narratives and broader historical forces, highlighting how belonging, rights, and obligations are experienced differently across diverse social, racial, and cultural contexts.’ … In the list of required readings for the course, there are only two that could plausibly be considered ‘founding documents’: the U.S. Constitution (which appears in only one section of the course) and the Declaration of Sentiments from the Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention.
Almost every other reading comes from specialized anthropological studies, including ‘I’m American, not Japanese!: The Struggle for Racial Citizenship among Later-Generation Japanese Americans’ and ‘Replicate, Facilitate, Disseminate: The Micropolitics of U.S. Democracy Promotion in Bolivia.’ Revealing the course’s leftist orientation, one module covers ‘anthropology’s role in American Empire Building,’ requiring students to read excerpts from Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World.”
At Northern Arizona University, Minella’s report identifies courses such as “Sociology of Chicanx and Latinx Communities” and “Indigenizing Museums and the Art World” as qualifying for civics and history requirements.
The report also alleges that the University of Arizona has failed to implement the American Institutions policy.
Minella wrote, “In utter defiance of ABOR’s directive, the University of Arizona (UA) has so far failed to implement AMIT at all. UA’s plan to integrate AMIT into general education has been mired in delays and troubling protocols.”
In December 2025, Mark Stegeman, an associate professor of economics at the University of Arizona, warned the university was failing to implement a civics program in accordance with the ABOR mandate, describing the U of A proposal for a single 3-unit course as “a car crash in the making.”
The report recommends that state lawmakers take action if universities do not fully comply with the policy.
The findings follow a separate March report from the Goldwater Institute examining honors colleges at Arizona public universities, including Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University, and the W.A. Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona, and the integration of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into honors programs and American civics courses.
The Civic Decline report is available on the Goldwater Institute’s website.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Apr 14, 2026 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is facing renewed scrutiny over longstanding personal, political, and financial ties to U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) following recent allegations against the California congressman and the subsequent collapse of his gubernatorial campaign.
Swalwell suspended his bid for governor of California in a Sunday announcement after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct, including a former congressional staffer. Swalwell has denied the allegations, which were detailed in reporting published Friday by the San Francisco Chronicle.
The California Democrat has announced his intent to resign from Congress in a statement released Monday:
“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make. I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members. Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong. But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress. I will work with my staff in the coming days to ensure they are able, in my absence, to serve the needs of the good people of the 14th congressional district.”
The allegations triggered political fallout within Democratic circles. Gallego, who had previously endorsed Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign, later revoked that endorsement.
Gallego and Swalwell have maintained a close relationship for years, publicly describing each other as close friends and frequently appearing together in political settings during their time in Congress.
Their ties extend beyond personal association into financial and campaign-related activity. According to a March report, Gallego invested campaign funds into an artificial intelligence startup launched by a business partner described as a close associate of Swalwell.
The report documented that the startup’s leadership included individuals with direct ties to Swalwell, drawing attention to the overlap between political fundraising and private investment activity.
The House Committee on Ethics has opened a probe into allegations of sexual misconduct by Swalwell, according to an announcement released Monday.
The committee stated it has “begun an investigation and will gather additional information regarding the allegations that Representative Eric Swalwell violated the Code of Official Conduct or any law, rule, regulation, or other applicable standard of conduct in the performance of his duties or the discharge of his responsibilities, with respect to allegations that he may have engaged in sexual misconduct, including towards an employee working under his supervision.”
Additional attention has come from social media posts by former New York Congressman George Santos, who has highlighted the longstanding relationship between Gallego and Swalwell and suggested further scrutiny may be warranted. In posts on X, Santos pointed to the timeline of alleged incidents and Gallego’s tenure in Congress alongside Swalwell, raising questions about the extent of their association.
Santos’ posts have fueled online discussion about Gallego’s association with Swalwell and other members of Congress.
Other political figures, including Turning Point Action COO Tyler Bowyer, have also pointed to Gallego’s past public support for Swalwell in response to the allegations.
The questions surrounding Gallego’s relationship with Swalwell have also drawn attention from journalists. In a post on X, Yashar Ali wrote, “An important question everyone should be asking: what did Senator Ruben Gallego know and when did he know it?”
Swalwell has previously faced national attention over other controversies, including reported contact with a suspected Chinese intelligence operative earlier in his congressional career. U.S. officials stated at the time that Swalwell was not accused of wrongdoing and cooperated with investigators.
Gallego initially appeared to publicly defend Swalwell as allegations emerged, before later distancing himself by withdrawing his endorsement. As of this report, Gallego has not issued a detailed public statement addressing the full scope of his relationship with Swalwell or the financial ties documented in prior reporting.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Ethan Faverino | Apr 14, 2026 | News
By Ethan Faverino |
Arizona Senator Janae Shamp (R-LD29) has successfully advanced protections for Arizona’s children and victims of crime after Governor Katie Hobbs signed SB 1092 into law.
The new legislation eliminates a significant gap in Arizona statutes that previously permitted individuals convicted of dangerous crimes against children to petition the court for early termination of their probation. Under SB 1092, offenders convicted of these serious offenses will now be required to serve the full term of probation originally imposed by the court, with no possibility of early release.
The bill ensures that sentences handed down for crimes such as child abuse, sexual conduct with a minor, and child sex trafficking are carried out as intended, without the possibility of early termination of probation.
“Victims and families should never have to worry about whether someone who harmed a child will get a break or be released early,” stated Senator Shamp. “This law shuts down a loophole that allowed convicted child predators to ask for early termination of probation, and that is simply wrong. If you commit a dangerous crime against a child, you should serve every day of your sentence, no exceptions, no excuses, and no second chances to cut it short.”
The provisions of SB 1092 specifically state that the court may not terminate the period of probation—or intensive probation—earlier than originally imposed if the defendant was convicted of a dangerous crime against children as defined in ARS Section 13-705. This probation applies to both standard probation and intensive probation terms.
“Arizona is standing with victims and making it clear that protecting children comes before anything else,” added Shamp. “I have made it my mission to make sex offenders’ lives hell, and I won’t back down.”
The law will take effect on or after January 1, 2027.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
