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The House of Representatives is launching an internal investigation into a GOP lawmaker accused of having an affair with and sexually harassing an aide who committed suicide last year.
The House Ethics Committee revealed on Wednesday that it is launching an investigative subcommittee on Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, in response to allegations he ‘engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his congressional office’ and ‘discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.’
Gonzales narrowly avoided defeat in his GOP primary race on Tuesday night but failed to clinch an outright majority of the vote. He’ll be facing conservative social media personality Brandon Herrera in a runoff election in May.
The Texas Republican has denied the affair with his Uvalde-based late aide, Regina Santos-Aviles, and accused her husband of extortion.
‘During my six years in Congress, not a single formal complaint has been levied against my office. Now days away from an election, coordinated political attacks reign in. IT WON’T WORK. Halfway through early voting and the intensity resides w/ TG voters. I’d rather be us than them,’ he posted on X in late February.
He told Fox News Digital in response to the probe on Wednesday, ‘I welcome the opportunity to present all the facts to the committee.’
It’s not immediately clear what impact the allegations had on his performance or how they will play out between now and his next election. Gonzales defeated Herrera by less than 2% in his 2024 Republican primary.
But the growing scandal has spurred calls for his resignation, notably by some of his fellow House Republicans.
‘I would encourage him to consider resigning,’ Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told reporters last week.
His fellow Texas lawmaker, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, urged Gonzales not to run for re-election. ‘America deserves better. Tony should drop out of the race,’ he posted on X.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who has also called for his resignation, announced just this week that she is forcing a vote on a measure requiring the House Ethics Committee to disclose information on lawmakers accused of sexually harassing their staff.
She told Fox News Digital that Gonzales’ situation was the impetus for her effort, ‘I mean, literally, this girl killed herself in the most heinous way. She literally lit herself on fire and died, and we’re just going to sit here and say, let the process play out? No.’
Gonzales, for his part, previously told reporters that he had no intention of resigning.
The traditionally secretive House Ethics Committee does not give a set timeline for its probes, nor does it typically forecast regular updates on them.