Barely an hour after scandal-plagued Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) announced his move to resign from Congress following allegations he had non-consensual contact with a severely intoxicated staffer, a Trump-supporting Republican lawmaker facing his own inappropriate conduct allegations made a similar move.
In a post to X on Monday, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) said, “There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas.”
Gonzales’ choice of words caused some confusion, as he avoided saying the word “resign,” and he had already agreed not to seek re-election to his congressional seat earlier this year as the scandal flared up.
A congressman representing most of the southern border in Texas, Gonzales was accused of an affair with congressional staffer Regina Santos-Aviles, who later died in a gruesome suicide. Text messages indicate that Gonzales pressured multiple staffers, including Santos-Aviles, to send him explicit photos, which appeared to discomfort at least some of them.
For the last few days, House lawmakers have been talking about a bipartisan slate of expulsions from Congress, which included not just Swalwell and Gonzales but also Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), who was accused of domestic violence, and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), who was accused of embezzling public funds intended for disaster relief.
According to Axios’ Andrew Solender, lawmakers remain confused about the timeline for his resignation, with some vowing to move forward on filing the expulsion resolution anyway unless he clarifies his resignation is effective immediately.
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