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Representative Eric Swalwell, the Democratic frontrunner in the fiercely contested race to be governor of California, has suspended his campaign amid a series of sexual assault and misconduct allegations by a former staff member and at least three other women.

The woman who worked for Swalwell said the California congressman had sexually assaulted her twice when she was too inebriated to consent, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle, which was published on Friday.

Three other women also accused Swalwell of misconduct, according to CNN. The women said Swalwell had sent them unsolicited nude photographs or explicit messages.

In a statement posted online, Swalwell, 45, said he would “fight the serious, false allegations that have been made – but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s”.

Swalwell denies all allegations and claims that they are an effort to disrupt his campaign. He has sent cease-and-desist letters to all accusers.

But calls are growing for him also to step aside from the House with some representatives saying they would support the rare step of expelling him should he refuse to go.

With the House returning to session Tuesday, the question of whether to expel Swalwell could come to a head quickly. Republican Anna Paulina Luna, of Florida, said Saturday that she would be filing a motion to start the process.

Expulsion votes in the House are rare and require a two-thirds majority, but there is recent precedent for taking the step. Republican George Santos of New York in 2023 became just the sixth member in House history to be ousted by colleagues for his conduct.

Fellow Democrats Jared Huffman, Pramila Jayapal and Teresa Leger Fernández said they would vote to expel Swalwell from the House, though they said they also support expelling Republican Tony Gonzales of Texas who admitted to an affair with a former staff member who later died by suicide.

In addition to the sexual assault allegation, Swalwell’s troubles deepened when the US Department of Homeland Security announced an investigation into allegations the US representative hired “a Brazilian national as a nanny without lawful work authorization”.

The claim was filed by Joel Gilbert, a California film-maker and conspiracy theorist who calls himself “the conservative Michael Moore”. In the 68-page-long complaint, Gilbert alleges that Swalwell and his wife employed a Brazilian woman who did not have a work permit to care for their children – and therefore violated immigration law.

Stay with us for all the developments. In other news:

• Pope Leo XIV has said he has “no intention” of debating president Donald Trump over the Iran war. This comes after Leo suggested over the weekend that “delusion of omnipotence” was fuelling the US-Israel war in Iran. In response, Trump said he doesn’t think the pontiff is not “doing a very good job” and that the US-born leader of the Catholic church was “a very liberal person”. “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo,” he said in a social media post, while also suggesting the pontiff should “stop catering to the Radical Left”. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Leo said: “I have no intention to debate with (Trump). The message is the same: to promote peace.”

• Trump has said the US Navy would start blockading the Hormuz strait and also prohibit every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran. The US Central Command said later it would begin a blockade of all Iranian Gulf ports and coastal areas on Monday at 10am ET (5.30pm in Iran and 2pm GMT), effectively seizing control of maritime traffic in the strait of Hormuz.