House Republican leaders on Thursday called on Representative Tony Gonzales of Texas to suspend his re-election campaign after he admitted to a sexual relationship with a staff member who later took her own life.
Mr. Gonzales publicly acknowledged the extramarital affair on Wednesday, a day after he struggled to defeat Brandon Herrera, a hard-line conservative, YouTuber and gun rights activist known as the AK Guy, in his Republican primary. The two are now in a runoff to be decided in May, and was not clear whether Mr. Gonzales would heed G.O.P. leaders’ call to suspend his campaign.
In a joint statement, the top three House Republicans said that the Ethics Committee would be conducting an investigation and that “in the meantime, leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election.”
It counted as a stunning move from G.O.P. leaders, who are operating with a razor-thin majority in the House that allows only one defection to still succeed on party-line votes if all members are voting.
Mr. Herrera thanked Speaker Mike Johnson in a social media post, saying Republican leaders were “holding Congressman Tony Gonzales accountable for actions that have tarnished the office.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Gonzales, who had refused for months to address the allegations, told a right-wing radio host that the affair was a “lapse in judgment” and a “mistake.” He also lashed out at the media, his political opponents and the widower of the aide with whom he had a relationship.
Annie Karni is a congressional correspondent for The Times.
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