Congressman Tony Gonzales has announced he will not pursue another term in office following the revelation of an extramarital affair with a staff member who later died by self-immolation.
“After thoughtful consideration and with the support of my devoted family, I have decided to forgo seeking reelection,” Gonzales stated. He emphasized his commitment to continue serving his constituents with dedication until his current term concludes.
Gonzales, a Republican representative from Texas, had initially refuted allegations of an affair with his former staffer, Regina Aviles, who tragically set herself on fire in September. The Daily Mail first reported on their ill-fated relationship last year.
The 45-year-old congressman was gearing up for a runoff in the Republican primary, having failed to secure the majority vote in the initial round.
This development came on the heels of calls from Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and other party leaders urging Gonzales to step down due to the scandal involving his staffer.
It came just hours after Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican leadership want Gonzales, who had an affair with a staffer, out of Congress.
‘Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election,’ Johnson said in a joint statement with other top House Republicans on Thursday.
Notably, Gonzales serving out the remainder of his term doesn’t shrink the Republican Party’s already narrow 218-214 House of Representatives majority heading into the midterms.
Congressman Tony Gonzales announced he’s ending his reelection campaign after he confessed to an extramarital affair with a staffer who eventually set herself on fire
Gonzales had an affair with his late staffer, Regina Aviles, pictured above, and initially denied it until fessing up to their relationship on Wednesday
For months, speculation has swirled over whether or not the Texan would fess up to the allegation, which was first reported in October 2025. And he came under mounting pressure to resign from his position of power after sexually charged texts between Gonzales and Aviles were released.
The bombshell correspondence showed the married congressman petitioning his staffer for inappropriate pictures and asking her about sexual preferences.
‘We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues,’ the joint statement continued.
One day after his primary race on Tuesday, and as calls for his resignation from Republicans and Democrats reached a boiling point, Gonzales admitted to the affair.
He called it a ‘mistake’ and a ‘lapse in judgement.’ He added: ‘I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has.’
His admission came just after the House Ethics Committee announced an investigation into the Texan’s conduct following a report from the Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC) indicating ‘substantial reason to believe’ Gonzales was embroiled in the affair. It is against congressional rules for a member to have an affair with a subordinate.
When pressed about Gonzales’ admission, Johnson didn’t let much slip but admitted it’s ‘not against the law.’
Elon Musk visits the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass with Gonzales and Aviles (pictured right)
‘I’m not going to get into private conversations,’ Johnson told Punchbowl News. ‘But I’ve told him to be forthright. Apparently now he’s doing that.’
When asked whether Gonzales should remain in Congress, given the scandal, the top Republican – and devout Christian – played coy.
‘Marital infidelity is not against the law,’ Johnson said.
Reminded that it’s against House rules for a member to have an affair with a staffer, Johnson admitted it was.
‘Well, of course, yeah. That’s being addressed. There is an investigation at Ethics. The OCC is on it. All those steps have already been taken and apparently were underway.’
‘I’ve always been consistent, whether you’re talking about Republicans or Democrats, we let the processes play out,’ the speaker added.
Both Democrats and Republicans have called on Gonzales to resign, or at a minimum, drop his bid for reelection.
Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina accused Gonzales of ‘harassing his own staffer in the middle of the night’ and has called on him to ‘resign immediately and be held fully accountable for what he’s done.’
This week Mace filed a resolution to force the House Ethics Committee to release its reports on sexual misconduct by members.
However, the House decisively voted to send the resolution to committee – a move that effectively killed Mace’s effort to expose the reports.
‘I think it’s really disgusting how this institution protects itself,’ Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna of Florida fumed on Wednesday.
‘We just had a Member of Congress literally sexually harass a woman that then lit herself on fire and you all protected him!’ she decried at a committee hearing. ‘You guys all protected him! My own side, your side.’
This week, Luna filed a censure resolution – one of the most severe punishments in Congress outside of expulsion – against Gonzales for his misconduct.
Chair of the Congressional Democratic Women’s Caucus, Teresa Leger Fernández, in addition to scores of other liberal lawmakers, have also called for Gonzales’ resignation.
‘Rep. Tony Gonzales’s actions would result in a termination and investigation in any other workplace.’
‘Rep. Gonzales should resign,’ she added, noting his ‘abuse of power.’
Gonzales’ position seemed even more tenuous after he finished second in the Republican Primary to return to his seat to Brandon Herrera, a conservative YouTuber known as ‘The AK Guy.’
Herrera finished first with 43.3 percent of the vote to Gonzales’ 41.7 percent.
The two of them would have faced a run-off election in late May to determine the Republican nominee in the November midterms.
