The House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) over sordid allegations of an affair with a staff member.
The committee announced it would be investigating “engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his congressional office” and “discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.”
The investigation will revolve around allegations that he engaged in an affair with Regina Santos-Aviles, his married former staffer who died after setting herself on fire in September 2025.
The investigation could dampen his chances of winning his runoff primary election in May, after neither he nor his Republican opponent, Brandon Herrera, managed to win over 50% of the vote during the primary election on Tuesday. The Associated Press called the race a runoff, with both candidates virtually tied at 42.5% of the vote as of 1:15 a.m. on Wednesday, with 77% of the vote counted.
Pressure increased on Gonzales earlier this year after Adrian Aviles, the widower of Santos-Aviles, released messages he claimed were between his wife and the congressman. The messages showed Gonzales pressuring Santos-Aviles to send him sexual material, reiterating demands after her rebuttals.
Other messages showed Gonzales pushing conversations around sexual topics, continuing after Santos-Aviles voiced discomfort.
According to Aviles, the affair ended their marriage, and after he learned of it, Gonzales’s office gave her a month off and tried to push her out. He then said his wife started “spiraling,” as she continued to express that she “wanted her family back.”
“I don’t think that it was an intentional act,” Aviles said of his wife’s death. “I think it was a cry for help. It was a cry for help that turned into a tragedy.”
The affair earned Gonzales significant criticism and calls to resign from several congressional Republicans. Herrera called on his primary rival to resign over the scandal.
“Tony Gonzales must resign,” Herrera wrote last month. “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, but he also broke trust with the public by insisting that the initial reporting of the affair was false.”
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Gonzales has consistently denied the affair and described her as a “disgruntled former staffer,” though clarifying she was a “kind soul.”
“Her efforts led to improvements in school safety, healthcare, and rural water like never before. 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,” he said last month.
