Jim: Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales Resists Calls to Resign Amid Allegations and Released Texts
jim U. S. Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas resisted growing calls to step down after recent disclosures about an alleged affair with a former staffer who later died after setting herself on fire. The lawmaker told reporters he will not resign and said there will be opportunities for all the details and facts to come out. The episode has drawn public demands for resignation from several House Republicans and prompted heightened attention to election and ethics implications.
Jim: Which Republicans Are Calling for Resignation
Members of the House GOP who demanded Gonzales step down include Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina. Other elected Republicans named in recent public comments include Brandon Gill and Chip Roy, with Gill endorsing Gonzales’s main primary opponent and saying, “Tony should drop out” and declaring that “America deserves better. ”
Alleged Text Messages and the Former Staffer
Recent coverage says text messages surfaced in which the former staffer, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, wrote to a colleague that she had an affair with the lawmaker. Santos-Aviles was 35. The messages attributed to the lawmaker allegedly included sexually explicit requests, such as a message sent at 12: 15 a. m. on 9 May that said, “Send me a sexy pic, ” and other messages that asked about favorite sex positions and fantasized about having sex. The former staffer later died by suicide after setting herself on fire. An attorney for Adrian Aviles, Santos-Aviles’s husband, said the husband had found out about the affair before his wife’s death.
Electoral Stakes and House Math
Gonzales is engaged in a tough Republican primary on March 3, facing Brandon Herrera, a gun manufacturer and gun-rights influencer who calls himself “the AK Guy” on his channel, which has nearly 4. 2 million subscribers. Gonzales defeated Herrera by fewer than 400 votes in their 2024 runoff. President Donald Trump had endorsed Gonzales for reelection in December. A resignation would change short-term House math: Republicans would hold a 217-214 majority until March, when the first of three special elections to fill vacancies is set in Georgia. The campaign disruption has also prompted chatter that Democrats could have a chance to flip the seat.
Responses from Gonzales and House Leadership
Gonzales has denied the affair, previously saying on social media that he was being blackmailed and calling the allegations a political smear; he also suggested in another social post that he is the target of “coordinated political attacks. ” He has not publicly addressed newly released text messages that have been circulated in recent coverage. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would speak with Gonzales and stressed that the accusations must be taken seriously while the investigation and fact-finding play out. Johnson also warned that if an allegation alone were the litmus for continued service, many members would face calls to resign or removal.
Procedural Moves and Wider Fallout
Rep. Nancy Mace announced she introduced a resolution intended to force the House Ethics Commission to publicly release its reports and records of allegations of sexual harassment against members of Congress. Requests for comment about the matter were not immediately answered. Reporters John Hanna and Juan A. Lozano have contributed coverage of the developments. Observers say the issue now combines personal, ethical and electoral elements that will play out through both formal processes and in the March primary.
For now Gonzales stands by his decision not to resign and has said facts will emerge in time; jim
