Rep. Eric Swalwell announces 2020 run on Colbert's 'Late Show'

Rep. Eric Swalwell, seen here in July 2018, announced his candidacy for president Monday. (Alex Edelman/Getty Images, File)

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., an outspoken critic of President Trump, officially entered the 2020 White House race during his Monday appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

The 38-year-old four-term congressman is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, which for years has made headlines over its investigations of Russian influence in U.S. elections and federal surveillance.

“I’ve been in Congress for six years, I’ve defended our country from the Intelligence Committee while democracy has been on the ropes... and I see a country in quicksand, unable to solve problems and threats from abroad, unable to make life better for people here at home. Nothing gets done,” Swalwell told Stephen Colbert. The show released a preview clip with his announcement ahead of its airing Monday night.

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He continued, “I’ve talked to people who are just like me who are the first in their family to go to college, got a lot of student debt, can’t buy a home, can’t start a business. I’ve talked to kids who sit in their classroom afraid that they’ll be the next victim of gun violence and they see Washington do nothing about it after the moments of silence and they see lawmakers who love their guns more than they love our kids.”

Swalwell declared, “None of that is going to change until we get a leader who is willing to go big on the issues we take on, be bold in the solutions we offer, and do good in the way that we govern. I’m ready to solve these problems. I’m running for the president of the United States.”

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Swalwell isn’t the first Democrat to make an official announcement on “The Late Show.” New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand revealed to Colbert she was launching an exploratory committee back in January. She has since made her candidacy official.

Rep. Swalwell is the eighteenth candidate who has joined the crowded field of Democrats in the primary.