House lawmakers push anti-sexual harassment efforts as a representative announced Thursday that he will finish out his term but “not seek re-election” after he faced widespread scrutiny for an affair with his staffer. That affair ultimately resulted in her suicide.
“I have decided not to seek re-election while serving out the rest of this Congress with the same commitment I’ve always had to my district,” Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, said on X. “God has a plan for all of us.”
Gonzales did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.
Gonzales’ announcement comes after the House Committee on Ethics opened an investigation into Gonzales’ relationship with his former staffer, and a joint letter from Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., that urged the congressman to drop his future legislative ambitions.
“We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues,” the statement said. “In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election.”
The scandal also moved congressional advocates against sexual harassment, like Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.; Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.; Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.; and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., to introduce legislation that would expose other members of Congress for past or current sexual harassment scandals and end financial settlements from the House Ethics Committee, Massie’s office confirmed.
“If your tax dollars were used to settle sexual harassment claims against members of Congress, you should know about it,” Massie told The Daily Signal.
Only 65 members of Congress voted in favor of the resolution.
Burchett, Mace, and Luna have not responded to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.
The representative previously denied the affair multiple times.
“[The] rumors are completely untruthful,” Gonzales previously said.
However, text messages released by the deceased ex-husband’s attorney in February between him and the deceased contradicted Gonzales’ original claims.
“I had an affair with our boss and I’m fine,” a 2024 text message from deceased staffer Regina Santos-Aviles to another staffer says.
“Send me a sexy pic,” another text message from Gonzales to Santos-Aviles said.
Gonzales will likely be replaced by YouTube creator Brandon Herrera, also known as the AK Guy, who clinched the Republican nomination for Texas’ 23rd District on Thursday following the news that Gonzales will not seek reelection.
“I appreciate Tony Gonzales for making the appropriate decision,” Herrera wrote on X. “I look forward to being the voice of TX23 that our district deserves.”
Herrera did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.
The two were supposed to match up in a primary runoff, after Gonzales trailed Herrera by 2% in the March 2 primary.
