Three prominent House Republican women castigated GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales Monday, applying major new pressure on the Texas lawmaker to address accusations that he had an affair with his staffer who later died by suicide.
Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado became the first Republican lawmaker to call for Gonzales’ resignation, followed by Reps. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who were both prompted to speak out by the release of new alleged text messages between the lawmaker and his subordinate.
Separately Monday, in his first comments on the matter, Speaker Mike Johnson called the allegations “very serious” but declined to call for further action as investigations into Gonzales play out. Rep. Brandon Gill, a fellow Texas Republican, also called Monday for Gonzales to resign.
Gonzales, who is in his third term representing a potentially competitive south Texas district, has previously denied having an improper relationship with the staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, who died after lighting herself on fire in September.
The sordid allegations have come under intense public scrutiny in recent weeks as Gonzales faces a heated primary election, fueling widespread speculation about his future in politics as he faces a potential ethics investigation.
Gonzales’ office did not respond to messages seeking comment Monday on the recent comments from his colleagues.
Boebert told POLITICO that newly released text messages published in media outlets underscore the need for Gonzales to resign, saying they “seemingly show a perverted boss drunkenly coercing a vulnerable staffer into explicit conversations, pressing her for ‘sexy pics,’ asking about her favorite sexual positions.”
POLITICO has not independently reviewed the messages.
“This kind of abuse of power has no place anywhere, let alone in Congress, and Tony Gonzales should be ashamed and RESIGN IMMEDIATELY!” Boebert said.
Luna said on X that “every single other Member of Congress … should be condemning a sitting Member of Congress asking for explicit photos of their staff.”
“As a woman, this is really disgusting to see. Not to mention, it brings dishonor on the House of Representatives. I am so sick of people not calling this crap out,” Luna added.
Mace called the texts “disgusting and inexcusable” and said Congress should “have ZERO tolerance for those who abuse their power over others.”
In comments to reporters Monday, Johnson said Gonzales must “address” the allegations with his constituents. But the speaker, who is struggling to maintain a razor-thin GOP majority, did not pull his endorsement of the Texas Republican with the primary just eight days away — in keeping with handling of other personal controversies faced by his members.
“I endorsed Tony before all these allegations came out — they’re obviously very serious,” Johnson told reporters at the Capitol. “And I’ve spoken with him and told him he’s got to address that in the appropriate way with his constituents, and all of that.”
Luna and Boebert were among a group of House Republican women who have criticized how top House GOP leaders, mostly men, have approached allegations of sexual misconduct — including, for Boebert, the effort to keep the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files under wraps.
Both were outraged at how Johnson and other GOP leaders handled an unsuccessful Democratic effort recently to censure Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) over now-retracted allegations of domestic assault and improper dealings with his arms company. Mills has denied the allegations, which remain under Ethics Committee review.
Johnson told reporters Monday he is handling the Gonzales matter in line with other allegations of misconduct, including those surrounding then Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who was expelled from the House over Johnson’s objections in 2023 ahead of a formal ethics trial.
“You have to let the system play out,” he said. “If the accusation of something is going to be the litmus test for someone being able to continue to serve in the House, we’ll have a lot of people who would have to resign or be removed or expelled from Congress.”
More House Republican women are reading the purported text messages between Gonzales and Santos-Aviles, and two women lawmakers granted anonymity to comment on the sensitive situation said it’s likely Johnson will come under more internal pressure to take action against Gonzales.
Johnson said he understood that the Office of Congressional Conduct is investigating Gonzales as well as Texas state authorities. Mills also remains subject to a House ethics investigation.
More recently, he has accused Santos-Aviles’ widower, Adrian Aviles, of engaging in a blackmail effort as he has given interviews criticizing Gonzales and released text messages between the lawmaker, who is a 45-year-old married father of six, and Santos-Aviles, who was 35.
An attorney for Aviles, Bobby Barrera, did not immediately return a call for comment. Barrera has publicly denied the blackmail accusation, explaining that he was attempting to recover damages through a potential lawsuit on behalf of Aviles.
One key player who has not weighed in on Gonzales is President Donald Trump, who endorsed him in December as Republicans face pressure to hold on to his must-win seat. Trump this weekend withdrew his endorsement for one House Republican — Rep. Jeff Hurd of Colorado, who voted down Trump’s Canada tariffs last week — but has stayed silent as the Gonzales scandal swirls.
Another issue facing Gonzales: GOP hardliners in Congress have been trying to replace him with a more hard-right Republican on immigration for years now. And Monday, the Freedom Caucus’ campaign arm officially endorsed his GOP primary challenger, Brandon Herrera, for a second time.
Herrera only lost to Gonzales by several hundred votes in 2022. He is now calling on Gonzales to step down and for congressional Republicans to rescind their support for the incumbent. Gonzales has countered that his opponent is fueling what he says are false allegations.
Trump, meanwhile, is facing intraparty pressure to distance himself from Gonzales, with far-right influencer Laura Loomer recently calling on social media for Trump to rescind his endorsement of Gonzales.
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
