Texas GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales says he will resign amid sex scandal

Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican accused of having a coercive sexual relationship with a staff member who later killed herself, said Monday that he would resign from Congress amid growing bipartisan outcry from House members.

Gonzales, a third-term congressman whose border district stretches from San Antonio to El Paso, was embroiled in a bitter primary fight when text messages became public that documented his pursuit of a female staff member. He announced last month that he was withdrawing from the race.

“There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all,” Gonzales said in a social media post Monday. “When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office.”

His message came hours after Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., announced his own intention to resign from Congress amid allegations that he had sexually assaulted a former staff member.

Both congressmen had faced calls to step down. Gonzales had been resisting those calls since earlier this year, when text messages he had sent to the female staff member, Regina Santos-Aviles, became public.

At first, it appeared that Gonzales would be able to remain in Congress after he said that he would drop his bid for reelection. But after the accusations against Swalwell came to light, pressure grew in Congress to push out both members, as well as others.

Santos-Aviles was working in Gonzales’ Uvalde district office when he sent her “sexual texts” in 2024, according to her husband’s lawyer, Bobby Barrera, who reviewed the messages. Another worker in the Uvalde office shared a text exchange with The New York Times in which Santos-Aviles told the co-worker of an “affair with our boss.”

Santos-Aviles killed herself in September 2025 by setting herself on fire, according to the Uvalde Police Department, a horrific event that drew immediate scrutiny in the area.

Gonzales denied any sexual relationship at the time. But he admitted to the affair in March, one day after he was forced into a runoff election in the Republican primary, calling it a “lapse in judgment” and a “mistake.” He maintained that he had nothing to do with Santos-Aviles’ death.

Gonzales was then accused of pursuing a second staff member, whom he reportedly pressed for nude photographs and sex in 2020, according to explicit text messages published by the San Antonio Express-News. The Times has not verified them.

In his social media message on Monday, Gonzales did not say when he would officially step down from Congress.

It was not immediately clear whether Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, would call a special election to fill Gonzales’ seat before the November election. Democrats have performed well in recent special elections around the country since last year, including in Texas districts such as Gonzales’ that were drawn to heavily favor a Republican candidate.

A spokesperson for Abbott said he did not have more information to share.

Even before the accusations surfaced, Gonzalez faced a strong primary challenge from Brandon Herrera, a gun rights advocate and YouTuber.

Herrera became the party’s nominee in the November election after Gonzales dropped his reelection bid. He celebrated Gonzales’ announcement on Monday.

“Nature is healing,” Herrera said in a social media post.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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