GOP House members call on Texas Rep Tony Gonzales to resign over alleged affair with former staffer

A few GOP House members are calling on fellow Republican Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales to resign over an alleged affair with a former staffer who committed suicide.”@RepTonyGonzales, RESIGN!” Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., posted on X on Monday, sharing a post of alleged texts between Gonzales and his now-deceased aide, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles.
“Tony Gonzales should resign immediately and be held fully accountable for what he’s done,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., posted on X on Monday. “She and her family deserved better. And Texans deserve a congressman who does not prey on women.”
“The entire Texas delegation, as well as every single other Member of Congress, should be condemning a sitting Member of Congress asking for explicit photos of their staff,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., posted on X on Monday.
“As a woman, this is really disgusting to see. Not to mention, it brings dishonor on the House of Representatives. I am so sick of people not calling this crap out. Again, like I’ve said before, this is not the only case of this crap up here. @RepTonyGonzales, shame on you.”
“America deserves better. Tony should drop out of the race,” Rep. Brandon Gill posted on X on Monday regarding his fellow GOP colleague from Texas.
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told Axios regarding Gonzales, “He needs to go.”
A Democratic congresswoman, Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico, also came out against Gonzales.
“Rep. Tony Gonzales’s actions would result in a termination and investigation in any other workplace. The United States Congress should be no different,” she told Axios.
“There is a pervasive issue in this country that powerful men can take sexual advantage of women and get away with it—from Epstein to Gonzales,” the congresswoman added. “Sadly, women end up paying the consequences, not men.”
A former staffer in Gonzales’ district office said that the congressman’s regional district director, 35-year-old Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, had an affair with Gonzales the year before she set herself on fire outside her Uvalde home, the San Antonio Express-News reported Wednesday.
Santos-Aviles, who was married and the mother of an 8-year-old boy, died on Sept. 14, 2025.
The former staffer also said Santos-Aviles told him that she and Gonzales had an affair in 2024, then she spiraled into a depression after her husband discovered the relationship and the congressman abruptly cut her off.
On Monday, the Express-News reported that Santos-Aviles told first responders before she died from her injuries that she had set herself on fire after learning her estranged husband was romantically involved with her best friend.
Gonzales has previously claimed that the allegations are “personal smears” being used by his primary opponent to “score political points,” saying last week that he will not be “blackmailed” as the widower of the deceased staffer seeks financial damages, The Hill news outlet reported.
The allegations come as Gonzales faces a competitive primary election. Early voting in Texas began last week.
It is against the House’s code of conduct for members to have a sexual relationship with an employee in their office.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, when asked by a reporter whether he still supports Gonzales, said Monday that he had endorsed him before the allegations came out.
Johnson added that he had spoken with Gonzales and told him to “address that in an appropriate way with his constituents and all of that.”
“It’s too early for anybody to prejudge any of that, but we’ll see how it develops,” the speaker said.
The Office of Congressional Conduct completed an investigation into the matter, and will transmit it to the House Ethics Committee after the primary ends.
Gonzales’s office didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment. 

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