California Democratic Rep Eric Swalwell believes himself to be a good judge of character, but his past says otherwise.
Fox News reports Swalwell had an exchange with Secretary of Homeland Security Krisi Noem on Wednesday during a DHS budget hearing where the former tried to push Noem on the topic of El Salvadorian MS-13 gang member and human trafficker Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s hand tattoos.
In a clip of the moment, posted to social media platform X, Swalwell questions Noem on a specific photo of Abrego Garcia’s hands as she communicates to Swalwell why he was deported back to his home country.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA): “I have a 7-year-old, a 6-year-old, and a 3-year-old. I have a bullsh*t detector. I’m just asking you, is this doctored or not doctored?” *Instructs his staffer to hold the photo right in front of Noem’s face*
Secretary Kristi Noem: “Are you saying… pic.twitter.com/vPPY20jvyC
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) May 14, 2025
Swalwell wanted Noem to engage in his leading question over the photograph.
“Is this doctored or is it not?” he asked about the photo, adding unconvincingly, ““I want you to have credibility and I want you to be taken seriously.”
When she would not budge, Swalwell told her, “Madame Secretary, I have a seven-year-old, a six-year-old, and a three-year-old,” Swalwell told Noem, appearing to grow frustrated.
“I have a bulls*** detector,” he said, attempting to communicate to the audience and his colleagues that she was not being forthcoming with the information he sought.
Do you think Dems are aware of how they sound?
This was — to put it mildly — an incredibly miscalculated statement by Swalwell.
Anytime the California representative tries to question anyone else’s integrity or ability to work for the American people, one moment from his past is always brought up.
According to the New York Post, Swalwell had a close relationship with a woman – Fang Fang – who entered the US in 2011 and spent four years making connections with several public officials.
Fang Fang helped fundraise for Swalwell’s election in 2014.
He reportedly severed ties with her in 2015 after federal investigators raised concerns, suspecting she was a Chinese spy.
Fang Fang allegedly carried out her work by becoming intimate with public officials according to another piece by the Post from 2020, leading many to conclude that her alleged tactics extended to her relationship with Swalwell.
That is all to say, Swalwell, based on his past, does not have “a bulls*** detector.”
Users were quick to bring up Swalwell’s past in replies to a Fox News X post:
Especially when it comes to Chinese espionage.
— JayatsOX (@jaystallard) May 15, 2025
Fang Fang disagrees.
— Scott 🇺🇸 (@ScottNC) May 14, 2025
Apparently not the Chinese version of the bulls— detector. pic.twitter.com/qTiTkCF322
— freedom fighter (@juleamurphy69) May 14, 2025
Swalwell can’t seem to escape his past, at least not when he wants to bring up someone else’s integrity.
In the future, he should tread lightly.
Accusing Noem or anyone else in the Trump administration for having questionable discernment is always going to come back around to him.
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