Overview
- Rep. Tony Gonzales denied wrongdoing, rejected calls to step down, and said he will not be “blackmailed” as he campaigns for another term.
- Texts from 2024 published by multiple outlets show Gonzales pressing former aide Regina Santos-Aviles for sexual images and comments she said were “going too far”; she died by suicide in 2025.
- Republicans including Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert, Thomas Massie, Tim Burchett, and others urged Gonzales to resign, while Mace filed a resolution to preserve and publicly release sexual-misconduct records from House investigations.
- Speaker Mike Johnson said constituents should judge the matter in the upcoming primary, Jim Jordan deferred to voters, and Rep. Troy Nehls argued a resignation would endanger the GOP’s slim House majority.
- The Office of Congressional Conduct has completed its review but, under a pre-election blackout, cannot transmit findings to the House Ethics Committee until after March 3, as challenger Brandon Herrera presses GOP leaders to push Gonzales out of the race.