--- title: Congressman Viral Yearbook Photo Is a Hilarious Throwback description: Rep. Eric Swalwell is a Congressman now. But as a teen in the 90s he rocked quite a look — and he's gone viral thanks to a yearbook photo. canonical: https://time.com/5551717/eric-swalwell-yearbook/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-14T16:57:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:58:05.339Z og:title: Congressman's Viral Yearbook Photo Is a Hilarious Throwback og:description: Rep. Eric Swalwell's yearbook photo featuring his 90s look has gone viral og:url: https://time.com/5551717/eric-swalwell-yearbook/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35f87bdef4707852/698946b4e76ad20150634534/rep-eric-swalwell.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: California Congressman Eric Swalwell Holds Event In Iowa og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Congressman's Viral Yearbook Photo Is a Hilarious Throwback twitter:description: Rep. Eric Swalwell's yearbook photo featuring his 90s look has gone viral twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35f87bdef4707852/698946b4e76ad20150634534/rep-eric-swalwell.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Congressman's Viral Yearbook Photo Is a Hilarious Reminder of Everyone's Ill-Advised High School Decisions > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 14, 2019 4:57 PM UTC  Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) speaks to guests during an event at the Iowa City Public Library on February 18, 2019 in Iowa City, Iowa. Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) speaks to guests during an event at the Iowa City Public Library on February 18, 2019 in Iowa City, Iowa. Scott Olson—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 14, 2019 4:57 PM UTC Rep. Eric Swalwell of California’s 15th District has been serving his constituents as a Democratic congressman since he was first elected to the position in 2013\. But it’s only now that voters are discovering one hilarious part of his back story, thanks to a viral high school yearbook photo that’s making the rounds online after it was dug up by [Mercury News](https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/03/10/do-california-politicians-yearbooks-harbor-secrets-nah-but-dorkiness/). Swalwell, who has [been considering](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Rep-Eric-Swalwell-will-give-up-East-Bay-seat-if-13646628.php) putting his hat in the ring for the [2020 presidential election](http://time.com/5542765/john-hickenlooper-colorado-president-campaign/), attended Dublin High School in Dublin, California in 1999\. And his senior portrait is an apt snapshot of the styles of the time, featuring Swalwell with perfectly spiked, bleached hair, an impressive tan and a crisp bow-tie. As the photo made its internet debut, commentators had plenty to say about the regrettable (and very popular) hairstyle of the era in particular — and even Swalwell himself was moved to comment on the image. “All of us make bad decisions in high school,” he tweeted. “Sometimes those decisions involve bleach. I swear there were others…” (These days, Swalwell can be seen rocking his presumably natural brown hair color.) And from his personal Twitter, he added: “I’m surprised I survived it too.” > [](https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1105942992693673984) > [](https://twitter.com/ericswalwell/status/1105562876805287938) > [](https://twitter.com/gilduran76/status/1105247843306991616) > [](https://twitter.com/kasie/status/1105880959935746048) Besides mulling a presidential bid, Swalwell has most recently helped [reintroduce ](https://swalwell.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/swalwell-blumenthal-menendez-reintroduce-journalist-protection-act)the Journalist Protection Act and a bill to [protect victims](https://swalwell.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/swalwell-re-introduces-bill-protect-victims-domestic-violence-guns) of domestic violence from guns, and shared [his support](https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1105952016604397569) of the Equality Act to end LGBTQ discrimination. He has said he will decide on his 2020 run by the [end of March](https://t.co/cjunrfzH4C). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5551717/eric-swalwell-yearbook/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5551717/eric-swalwell-yearbook/"},"headline":"Congressman's Viral Yearbook Photo Is a Hilarious Reminder of Everyone's Ill-Advised High School Decisions","datePublished":"2019-03-14T16:57:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:58:05.339Z","description":"Bleach is a dangerous tool","url":"https://time.com/5551717/eric-swalwell-yearbook/","keywords":["Newsfeed","politics","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35f87bdef4707852/698946b4e76ad20150634534/rep-eric-swalwell.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35f87bdef4707852/698946b4e76ad20150634534/rep-eric-swalwell.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"California Congressman Eric Swalwell Holds Event In Iowa","caption":"California Congressman Eric Swalwell Holds Event In Iowa","creditText":"Scott Olson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5551717/eric-swalwell-yearbook/","name":"Congressman's Viral Yearbook Photo Is a Hilarious Reminder of Everyone's Ill-Advised High School Decisions"}}]}] ```