Tony Gonzales Faces Bipartisan Calls to Resign After New Texts Surface
tony gonzales is confronting fresh, bipartisan pressure to quit after newly released text messages between the Texas congressman and a former aide prompted GOP colleagues and other officials to demand his resignation just days before next week's primary election in Texas.
Tony Gonzales faces calls to quit from GOP colleagues
highlighted GOP members who said Gonzales should step down; Representative Lauren Boebert wrote "Resign!" in a social media post that included images of the text messages, Representative Anna Paulina Luna urged colleagues to condemn Mr. Gonzales for "asking for explicit photos" of a member of his staff, and Representative Nancy Mace said Mr. Gonzales should resign immediately instead of "campaigning like nothing happened. " Pressed for answers on Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson conceded the underlying allegations are "serious, " adding that he has urged Gonzales to address the controversy "in an appropriate way with his constituents. "
Specific GOP reactions and campaign pressure
Other Republican officials stopped short of calling for immediate ouster: Texas Representatives Chip Roy and Brandon Gill urged Gonzales to end his re-election campaign in light of the allegations rather than demand his removal outright. The new push from within the party came as the controversy intensified ahead of the primary election next week in Texas.
Texts and the San Antonio Express-News account
The underlying scandal intensified when the San Antonio Express-News published a text message from Regina Santos-Aviles, a former aide who said she had an extramarital affair with Gonzales; Santos-Aviles died by suicide last year. A former aide to the congressman, who asked not to be named to the Express-News citing a fear of retaliation, provided a text message from Santos-Aviles in which she said she "had an affair with our boss. " That same aide shared the evidence with.
New disclosures, reviews and verification limits
This week, a lawyer for Santos-Aviles' husband disclosed additional, sexually explicit text messages that the GOP congressman allegedly sent to his former aide. MS NOW has not independently verified the authenticity of the texts; the messages were reviewed in detail by, the San Antonio Express-News, The, NBC News, Politico and The Texas Tribune.
Gonzales' limited response, accusations and endorsements
Gonzales, a married father of six who has long denied any wrongdoing, has said very little about the controversy ahead of next week's primary election in Texas. Though he has denied having a sexual relationship with his former aide, he recently accused his primary rival, YouTube personality Brandon Herrera, and Santos-Aviles' husband of trying to blackmail him. Donald Trump formally endorsed Gonzales last week, and that endorsement has remained in place to date.
What comes next
There are no clear answers yet about whether Gonzales' congressional career will end prematurely; in the short term the next confirmed milestone is the primary election next week in Texas, where his campaign position and any further official actions will play out.
