Rep. Gonzales Faces Mounting Pressure From Fellow Republicans Over Harassment Allegations: What to Know

Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas is facing pressure to step down from some members of his own party after allegations that he had an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. 

Several of Gonzalez’s fellow House Republicans, including Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, and Nancy Mace of South Carolina, have called for Gonzales’s resignation after The San Antonio Express-News and 24SightNews earlier this week published text messages allegedly exchanged between Gonzales and his former aide, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles. The messages appear to show the congressman pressing Santos-Aviles to send him a “sexy pic” and asking her sexually explicit questions. On two occasions, according to the Express-News, Santos-Aviles warned Gonzales in the text exchanges that he was going “too far.” Gonzales previously denied having an affair with his late staffer, but he has not addressed the newly released text messages that have sparked additional scrutiny. TIME has reached out to Gonzales’ office for comment.

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Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday that Gonzales must speak to the allegations against him ahead of the Texas primary election next week, in which Gonzales faces a tight race against the YouTuber and gun rights activist Brandon Herrera, whom he narrowly beat in 2024, as he vies for reelection.

“I’ve said to him publicly and privately, he’s got to address that directly and head on with his constituents,” Johnson, who has not rescinded his endorsement of Gonzales, told reporters. “There’s a primary there in less than a week, these things will play out.”

While Johnson added that the allegations were “alarming and detestable,” he did not join the push for Gonzales’ resignation, instead saying that “we have to allow the due process here to play out, as always.”

The House Speaker earlier said following the release of the texts on Monday that the allegations against Gonzales “must be taken seriously,” but added that “you have to allow the investigation to play out and all the facts to come out” in all such cases. “If the accusation of something is going to be the litmus for someone being able to continue to serve in the House, a lot of people would have to resign or be removed or expelled from Congress,” Johnson said. 

On Tuesday, Gonzales told reporters, “I am not going to resign.” 

Here’s what to know about the allegations, and Republicans’ calls for Gonzales to step down. 

What are the allegations against Gonzales?

Gonzales, a married father of six who has served in the House since Jan. 2021, is facing allegations that he pressured Santos-Aviles into a sexual relationship. 

Santos-Aviles, who began working for Gonzales in 2021, died in Sep. 2025 in what the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled a suicide. 

The San Antonio Express-News last week reported that it had obtained a text Santos-Aviles sent to another staffer in April 2025 reading, “I had [an] affair with our boss and I’m fine.”

Santos-Aviles’ widower, Adrian Aviles, told the outlet in an article published the next day that he had learned of the alleged affair in May 2024, saying he had found text messages from Gonzales to his wife that were “very sexual in nature.” Aviles said he texted Gonzales and other staff members following the discovery. “When that happened, they black-sheeped her,” he said. “They severed communications with her. They gave her a month off. They’re essentially trying to push her out … and make her quit.”

Aviles told the outlet, “Tony abused his power. He should have held himself to a higher standard as a congressional leader.” 

Speaking to CBS News later in the week, Bobby Barrera, an attorney for Aviles, alleged that Gonzales coerced Santos-Aviles into the alleged relationship, describing some of the messages that were published days later.

The text exchanges first published by the Express-News and 24SightNews earlier this week have further fueled controversy over the alleged affair. In one message sent on May 9, 2024, Gonzales asked Santos-Aviles to “send me a sexy pic.” He later asked her what her “favorite position” was, going on to reference sexual acts.

Santos-Aviles at one point in the exchange replied, “this is too far, Tony.” She added, “please tell me you didn’t just hire me because I was hot.”

“No way,” Gonzales wrote.

Multiple other outlets have since obtained and reported on the text messages. TIME has not independently verified their authenticity.

In other reported messages from June 2024, Aviles appears to text Gonzales and other staffers from his wife’s phone, in line with what he told the Express-News. “She’s been having an affair on me with your boss Tony Gonzales for some time now,” a text from Aviles reads.

In an interview with CBS News on Monday, Aviles said of his wife’s alleged affair with Gonzales, “This is not something that’s been fabricated.”

“You ended a family because of your predatorial instincts,” said Aviles. 

Gonzales has denied that he had an affair and alleged that he is being blackmailed into a legal settlement. Asked on Tuesday if he had had an extramarital affair with a staffer and if the texts were real, Gonzales told CNN’s Manu Raju, “There will be an opportunity for all the details and facts to come out. What you’ve seen is not all the facts. And there will be ample time for all of that to come out.”

Last Thursday, prior to the release of the text exchanges this week, Gonzales shared part of a message from Barrera in a post on X in which the attorney appeared to reiterate an offer of “settlement with a Non-Disclosure agreement” and note that $300,000 would be the maximum amount recoverable under the Congressional Accountability Act. “I WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED. Disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death,” the congressman wrote in the post.

In response, Barrera told CBS News, “Any claim of extortion implies that he actually did something wrong and that we want money to keep our mouth shut. But what he’s failed to acknowledge is that he had this affair. It shocks the conscience that he would do this, with the exception that he’s trying to play the victim once again.”

Calls to step down

Several of Gonzalez’s fellow Republicans in Texas and in Congress have called for him to resign or end his reelection bid over the allegations. 

Most recently, Massie said he was joining his House colleagues Boebert, Luna, and Mace in calling for Gonzales to step down. “Where are the other men in the GOP?” Massie wrote in a post on X on Tuesday. “Trump is infamous for making terrible endorsements — this is one and it should be revoked,” he added, referencing to the President’s December endorsement of Gonzales. 

Asked by reporters on Tuesday what kind of process he’d like to see in response to the allegations, Burchett told reporters, “Well, the legal process, of course. But I think he should do the right thing and resign.” Earlier, the Tennessee congressman told Axios that Gonzales “needs to go.”

Boebert on Monday simply addressed Gonzales on X and posted the word “RESIGN!” in response to a post including screenshot of alleged texts between Gonzales and Santos-Avile,.

Luna wrote on X hours after Boebert’s post, “It is time for Tony to let someone else represent the great people of TX. Tony, you should drop out of the race.”

Luna’s post came as a response to one from Texas Republican Rep. Brandon Gill, who had previously called on Gonzales to end his campaign.  

“America deserves better,” Gill said. “Tony should drop out of the race.”

Rep. Chip Roy, another Texas Republican, also called on Gonzales to drop out of the race and threw his support behind Herrera.

“We need conservative warriors in Congress representing the values of Texans,” Roy, who is running for Texas Attorney General, posted on social media on Monday.

In light of the accusations against Gonzales, Mace announced that she had introduced a resolution directing the House Ethics Commission to release its records of allegations of sexual harassment against members of Congress.

“Tony Gonzales is just the tip of the iceberg,” Mace wrote on X in a post announcing the resolution. “There is no place for sexual harassment or unwelcome sexual advances in the House of Representatives. And we won’t let the Washington establishment keep protecting its own. End of story.”