Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas is facing mounting pressure to resign after he was accused of having an extramarital affair with a staffer before she committed suicide last year.
Reps. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky have all made public calls for Gonzales to immediately step down. Texas Republican Reps. Chip Roy and Brandon Gill, meanwhile, have urged Gonzales to end his re-election bid.
Gonzales, a 45-year-old husband and father of six children, has denied allegations of an affair with Regina Santos-Aviles, his former staffer, who committed suicide last September by dousing herself in accelerant and setting herself on fire at her Uvalde, Texas, home. Santos-Aviles, who was 35 at the time of her death, left behind a young son.
The latest revelations in the scandal came last week when the San Antonio Express-News published messages that Santos-Aviles’ husband said were sent between Gonzales and his former staffer. Screenshots of the messages show Gonzales allegedly making sexual requests of Santos-Aviles, including asking her to send him a “sexy” photo of herself and asking what her “favorite position” is.
One message shows the congressman allegedly telling Santos-Aviles about his sexual fantasy before the staffer replies, “This is too far, Tony.” In another message, she wrote, “This is going too far boss. So how long have you thought I was this hot?”
Santos-Aviles’ husband, Adrian Aviles, told the Express-News, “I said the truth would come to light when it’s time, and the time is now. Tony abused his power. He should have held himself to a higher standard as a congressional leader.”
Gonzales remained defiant on Tuesday, telling CNN, “I am not going to resign. I work every day for the people of Texas … and there will be an opportunity for all the details and all the facts to come out. What you’ve seen is not all the facts.”
Gonzales did not answer when asked by CNN whether the text messages reported by the Express-News were real. Last week, the Republican congressman said he would “NOT BE BLACKMAILED” and added that it was “disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death.”
Adrian Aviles said he wanted to release the text messages to push back on Gonzales’ claim that he is being “blackmailed.”
“I’m releasing them now because I don’t want to be called a liar and don’t want her to be called a liar,” Aviles added. “I also want to show proof to everybody the type of person that he is. He’s a predator. He took advantage of a very vulnerable woman.”
The Daily Wire reached out to Gonzales’ office for comment.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Monday that Republicans should “wait for more of the facts to come out” before calling for Gonzales’ resignation. A Gonzales resignation would further endanger the House Republicans’ majority as the party holds on tightly to a four-seat lead over the Democrats. Some Republicans have seen enough, and are voicing their disgust with Gonzales over the allegations.
“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,” Luna said 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.”
Congressman Roy, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said that Gonzales should end his re-election campaign “for the good of the country” and the “good of the party.” Roy previously endorsed Gonzales’ Republican primary challenger, Brandon Herrera.
Herrera called Gonzales a “sexual predator” who “wrecked a family.”
“I have now seen some of the text messages between Tony Gonzales and his late aide, Regina Santos-Aviles. It is now clear to me Tony Gonzales is a sexual predator, who abused his position of power and wrecked a family,” Herrera said on Sunday. “I also now know this is not the only case. He must resign.”
A recent poll from Political Intelligence shows Gonzales trailing Herrera by over 20 points ahead of the Republican primary. Gonzales was also underwater by 30 percentage points in approval rating, with 54% of those surveyed holding an unfavorable opinion of the third-term representative.
