A Trump-endorsed Texas congressman has addressed his alleged affair with a former aide who died by suicide last year.
Rep. Tony Gonzales, 45, has been dogged by questions about a reported relationship with his former regional district director, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles. Santos-Aviles was 35 when she set herself on fire outside her home last September, leaving behind her eight-year-old son.
Last November, Gonzales, who is married with six children, said at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin that the “rumors are completely untruthful” following a Daily Mail report on the alleged affair.
Now he is blaming one of his primary opponents for the story, which the San Antonio Express-News reported on last night.
“Ms. Santos-Aviles was a kind soul who devoted her life to making the community a better place,” Gonzales told The New York Post. “Her efforts led to improvements in school safety, healthcare, and rural water like never before.”
Gonzales added: “It’s shameful that Brandon Herrera is using a disgruntled former staffer to smear her memory and score political points, conveniently pushing this out the very day early voting started. I am not going to engage in these personal smears and instead will remain focused on helping President Trump secure the border and improve the lives of all Texans.”
Herrera, a 30-year-old YouTuber and gun fanatic, soon fired back on X.
“You blame me? Are you kidding me?” he wrote, calling Gonzales “an irredeemable coward, who dodges accountability and lies to the people.”
Herrera added: “This started with my problems with your votes in Congress, but now I understand you are a horrifically wicked man who must be removed.”
Santos-Aviles, according to the San Antonio Express-News, revealed to a coworker last year via a text message that she had an “affair with our boss.”
A lawyer for Santos-Aviles’ widower told the paper that the alleged affair was “not a secret among the staff.”
According to the report, Santos-Aviles became depressed when her husband learned of the affair, and then Gonzales cut her off.
“She talked about Tony every day,” said an ex-staffer, who claims to have informed Gonzales of concerns for Santos-Aviles’ well-being. “She went from the number one employee in the office to nothing.”
Gonzales’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
The congressman, who is running for a fourth term, is endorsed by President Donald Trump and three top House Republicans: Mike Johnson, Steve Scalise, and Tom Emmer.
Gonzales once had the San Antonio Express-News’ endorsement, but the paper’s editorial board withdrew it in light of Tuesday’s report. The board wrote that Gonzales, who describes himself as a pro-family Catholic, had shown “a disturbing lack of character from an elected official.”
Herrera, meanwhile, has called for Gonzales to resign.
“He not only broke House ethics rules by having an adulterous affair with a member of his congressional staff and by using taxpayer money to fund the affair,” he said in a statement, “but he also broke trust with the public by insisting that the initial reporting of the affair was false.”
Texas’ primary will be held March 3.
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