The House Ethics Committee will investigate allegations that Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) had an affair with a former staff member who later died after setting herself on fire, the committee said Wednesday, ensuring that the scandal that has dogged Gonzales through his bitter primary race will continue to factor heavily as he heads into a runoff.
An investigative subcommittee will look into allegations that Gonzales “engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his congressional office” and “discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges,” Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-Mississippi) wrote in a letter Wednesday.
Under House rules, lawmakers are not permitted to engage in sexual relationships with staff members.
Gonzales, a married father of six, has been accused of having an improper relationship with a then-aide, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, who died in September after lighting herself on fire in her backyard. Her death was ruled a suicide.
Since then, the former aide’s estranged husband has shared text messages that showed Gonzales pressing Santos-Aviles for a “sexy pic” and asking her about her favorite sex position. Santos-Aviles pushed back, writing, “This is going too far boss,” at one point in the May 2024 conversation.
Gonzales recently declined to say whether the messages are authentic.
Gonzales has denied any wrongdoing or improper relationship with Santos-Aviles, and he has adamantly refused calls to resign from Congress or to end his reelection bid — several of which came from his Republican colleagues.
Representatives for Gonzales’s office did not respond to requests for comment regarding the investigation.
On Wednesday, Gonzales said he thought his campaign “did well” on Tuesday despite not winning the primary outright.
“Not everyone last night was successful. We were successful in getting to the runoff,” Gonzales told CNN’s Manu Raju outside the Capitol. Asked if he denied having an affair with Santos-Aviles, Gonzales said, “I will address the allegations today” — then climbed into a waiting vehicle, which drove away.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), who is holding onto a razor-thin majority in the House, has called the accusations against Gonzales “very serious” but has not called on him to step aside, saying the issue would “play out” in his reelection bid.
Gonzales on Tuesday fell short of the majority vote required to avoid a runoff. Now he will face off against the other top finisher in the GOP primary, Brandon Herrera, a YouTuber with a gun business who calls himself “the AK Guy.” Herrera maintained a narrow lead Wednesday morning with most of the votes counted.
The Office of Congressional Conduct, a nonpartisan office governed by a board of private citizens, had begun looking into allegations against Gonzales in November, according to the San Antonio Express-News, and it was required to refer the matter to the House Ethics Committee by Wednesday for either further review or dismissal.
Under House rules, the Ethics Committee has up to 90 days to release the OCC’s report — unless it creates an investigative subcommittee, as it has this time, in which case it must release the OCC’s findings within a year. Members of the investigative subcommittee have not been selected yet, Guest said Wednesday, suggesting that findings of the investigation will not be made public very soon. There is no timeline for Ethics Committee investigations, which can take months.
Rep. Nancy Mace (South Carolina), one of the GOP lawmakers who has called on Gonzales to resign, introduced a resolution last week that would compel the Ethics Committee to release, within 60 days of adoption, all reports related to sexual harassment violations involving lawmakers, their staff members or lobbyists.
House Ethics Committee members opposed the bill, warning that it could have a chilling effect on victim and witness participation in their investigations. On Wednesday afternoon, the House voted 357-65 to refer Mace’s resolution to committee, effectively killing it.
“The establishment protects itself, never the victims,” Mace wrote on X after the vote.
Voters do not always punish scandals, and this was apparent Tuesday night in other Texas primary races. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) handily defeated a primary challenger, despite being charged in 2024 with bribery, money laundering and conspiracy and being pardoned by President Donald Trump last year.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who faced a lengthy impeachment trial (which ended in acquittal) and a very public divorce in which his wife accused him of adultery, nevertheless will head into a runoff against Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) for his seat, after neither captured a majority of the vote Tuesday.
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