WASHINGTON, March 4 - The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee announced on Wednesday that it will investigate allegations of sexual misconduct and preferential treatment involving Representative Tony Gonzales, a Republican from Texas. The probe follows claims tied to an alleged affair with a former staff member who subsequently died by suicide.
The committee said it will determine whether Gonzales "engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employee in his congressional office and/or discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges."
Gonzales, who has denied the allegations, also faces potential disciplinary measures initiated by a fellow Republican. Representative Anna Paulina Luna filed two measures on Wednesday seeking to censure Gonzales and remove him from his committee assignments. Gonzales' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Several House Republicans have publicly called for Gonzales to resign or withdraw from his campaign after the San Antonio Express-News published explicit text messages exchanged between Gonzales and his then-staff member, Regina Santos-Aviles, who died by suicide last September.
The developments come in the wake of a tightly contested Texas primary. Gonzales was forced into a primary runoff in May against Republican challenger Brandon Herrera after trailing by less than 1,000 votes in Tuesday's primary, where neither candidate secured 50 percent of the vote. The runoff follows an earlier contest in which Gonzales prevailed over Herrera in the 2024 primary by only a few hundred votes. Herrera is described in campaign accounts as a YouTube influencer and a gun rights advocate known as "the AK Guy."
Gonzales posted a statement on X on February 22 defending his tenure, saying, "During my six years in Congress not a single formal complaint has been levied against my office. Now days away from an election, coordinated political attacks reign in. IT WONT WORK. Half way through early voting and the intensity resides w/ TG voters. I’d rather be us than them."
The Ethics Committee's inquiry and the separate measures filed by Representative Luna add formal legislative and investigatory pressure on Gonzales as he heads into the runoff. The committee's stated focus is to assess whether misconduct occurred toward an employee and whether any unfair privileges were granted within the congressional office.
At this stage, the investigation has been announced and measures have been filed; further actions and determinations will depend on the committee's review and any additional legislative steps by colleagues.