'We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues'
JULIEGRACE BRUFKE
MAR 04, 2026
UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 10: Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, leaves a House Republican Conference candidate forum for speaker meeting in Longworth Building on Tuesday, October 10, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — House GOP leadership is calling on Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) to abandon his reelection campaign after the congressman publicly admitted to having an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, a scandal that has triggered a formal House Ethics Committee investigation and calls for his resignation from within his own party.
In a joint statement released on Thursday, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) urged the House Ethics Committee to move swiftly and said they have asked the embattled Texas congressman to drop out of the race.
“The Ethics Committee has announced an investigation into Congressman Tony Gonzales’s conduct, and we urge them to act expeditiously. Congressman Gonzales has said he will fully cooperate with the investigation. We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues. In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election,” they wrote.
Gonzales, in a Wednesday interview with conservative radio host Joe Pags, broke from weeks of denial and acknowledged the relationship with Regina Santos-Aviles, a married mother of one who served as his regional director.
“I take full responsibility for those actions. Since then, I’ve reconciled with my wife, Angel. I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has, and my faith is as strong as ever. When you make mistakes like this, you know it’s never easy. It humbles you, but it’s important to kind of work through it all,” he said on the program.
Even as he acknowledged the affair, Gonzales went on offense, accusing Santos-Aviles’ widower, Adrien Aviles, of attempting to extort him for money, and alleging that the media has coordinated attacks against him ahead of a May 26 primary runoff against gun-rights activist and YouTube personality Brandon Herrera. Gonzales asserted he had no plans to step aside.
Text messages obtained by 24sight News from a forensic extraction of Santos-Aviles’ phone — conducted as part of an active legal claim by her widower’s attorney — show Gonzales asking her about sexual preferences and requesting photos during an exchange in May 2024. Santos-Aviles repeatedly pushed back, stating: “this is going too far, boss” in one of the exchanges.
Santos-Aviles died Sept. 14, 2025, after sustaining injuries from a fire in her backyard in Uvalde, Texas. The county medical examiner ruled her death the result of self-immolation.
A growing number of Republican lawmakers have spoken out, calling for Gonzales to step down. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) told 24sight News on Wednesday she filed a censure resolution to formally condemn him. The House Ethics Committee announced Wednesday it had opened a formal investigation into the matter.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), separately attempted to force a House floor vote Wednesday that would have required the Ethics Committee to publicly release all records related to investigations into sexual misconduct by lawmakers within 60 days, with victims’ identifying information redacted. The House voted to shelve the resolution.
“I know there’ll probably be a fight on the floor. It’ll probably go down and be tabled, but this is the kind of transparency Congress needs right now. We’re talking about members like Tony Gonzales — this young woman killed herself in the most horrific way, she set herself on fire and died, and we’re just going to shrug it off and let the process play out,” Mace told 24Sight News on Tuesday.
The Ethics Committee released a statement opposing Mace’s resolution, arguing that mandatory disclosure of records could discourage victims and witnesses from cooperating and could retraumatize those involved, adding that sexual harassment and workplace misconduct “have no place in the halls of Congress.”
Mace said she is also exploring options to expose an alleged congressional slush fund used to pay off sexual harassment claims, and said she plans to subpoena records through the House Oversight Committee.
Gonzales failed to secure more than 50 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s primary, setting up the May 26 runoff against Herrera.
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