House Republican leadership is urging Representative Tony Gonzales (R., Texas) to end his reelection campaign after he admitted to having an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) and his GOP leadership colleagues issued a joint statement urging Gonzales to step aside and urged the House Ethics Committee to swiftly investigate the matter.
“The Ethics Committee has announced an investigation into Congressman Tony Gonzales’s conduct, and we urge them to act expeditiously,” Johnson and three other top House Republicans said.
“In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election.”
Gonzales admitted to the affair for the first time Wednesday following a separate House investigation that concluded Gonzales likely had a sexual relationship with a subordinate in violation of House rules.
“I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” Gonzales told conservative radio host Joe Pags. “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.”
The deceased staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, died in September 2025 after setting herself on fire outside her home. Her death was ruled a suicide. A recent autopsy report found she was intoxicated when she set herself on fire. She died the following day.
Santos-Aviles’s husband, Adrian Aviles, spoke publicly about the scandal for the first time in February, blaming Gonzales for pushing his wife to have the affair. His comments came after Gonzales faced significant scrutiny for explicit text messages in May 2024 urging Santos-Aviles to send a “sexy pic,” a request she pushed back against. In a separate message to colleagues, Santos-Aviles admitted to having an affair with Gonzales.
Gonzales is currently running for reelection for Texas’s 23rd district against pro-gun YouTuber Brandon Herrera. The two candidates advanced to a runoff Tuesday after neither secured the 50 percent threshold needed to win outright. A MAGA upstart, Herrera took home 43.3 percent to Gonzales’s 41.7 percent of the vote, suggesting Gonzales is in serious trouble when the runoff comes around.
“I would like to thank Speaker Johnson and House leadership for holding Congressman Tony Gonzales accountable for actions that have tarnished the office. I’m looking forward to representing the district the way the people of West Texas have always deserved,” Herrera said in response to the House GOP leadership’s statement.
Gonzales has said he will not resign from Congress because of the affair. House Republicans cannot afford to lose any seats because of their razor-thin majority. One of his Republican colleagues, Representative Anna Paulina Luna (Fla.), has moved to have Gonzales censured because of the affair. It is unclear when a censure vote will take place.