Tony Gonzales stepping down from Congress after affair with staffer
Gonzales was also accused of sending explicit texts to another former staffer
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Disgraced Rep. Tony Gonzales plans to retire from Congress, weeks after Republicans urged him to step down.
The Texas Republican previously dropped his re-election bid over his relationship with former staffer Regina Santos-Aviles, who died after setting herself on fire in 2025.
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The husband and father of six allegedly asked Santos-Aviles for nude photos multiple times during a 2020 GOP primary runoff in lewd texts, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Gonzales was also accused of sending explicit texts to another former staffer.
“There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all,” Gonzales wrote on X on Monday.
“When Congress returns tomorrow (Tuesday), I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas.”
It was not immediately clear when the resignation would take effect.
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Sexual misconduct investigation
Gonzales is also facing a House Ethics Committee probe into his alleged sexual misconduct, which would close if and when he steps down.
Republican leaders previously called on Gonzales to end his re-election bid after he admitted to an affair with Santos-Aviles.
The 35-year-old staffer died on Sept. 13, 2025, after setting herself on fire in the backyard of her Uvalde, Tex., home.
After Gonzales, 45, dropped out of his primary race against fellow Republican Brandon Herrera, the Express-News reported that the congressman allegedly had hounded another staffer for sex.
Gonzales reportedly sent hundreds of messages to his then-political director back in 2020, in which he repeatedly asked her for nudes, questioned the “kind of panties” she wore, and begged her to “squeeze my balls,” according to the outlet.
Gonzales’ resignation comes as fellow congressman Eric Swalwell announced he was giving up his seat amid sexual misconduct accusations.
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Calls for men’s expulsion
Democratic Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico announced plans to introduce a resolution later this week to expel Gonzales from Congress.
“As I’ve said, Gonzales and Swalwell are not fit to serve in Congress given their sexual transgressions against women who work for them,” Fernandez wrote on X. “They should resign or be expelled.”
Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida issued her own ultimatum on X.
“If Congressman Swalwell has not resigned with the Clerk of the House by 2 PM today, I will continue my resolution regarding his expulsion,” she wrote Tuesday morning. His statement about his ‘plan to resign his seat’ is not binding and is wormy. The same goes for Tony.”
Fernandez and Luna both expressed support for each other’s statements.
The House GOP’s 217-to-214 majority will not be impacted with Swalwell’s and Gonzales’s departures from Congress.
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