Embattled Rep Tony Gonzales announces plans to resign amid sexual misconduct allegations
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, abruptly announced his decision to resign from Congress Monday evening amid calls for him to step aside after admitting to sexual misconduct with a staffer earlier this year.
The embattled lawmaker is facing an anticipated expulsion vote that could occur as early as this week.
"There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office," Gonzales wrote on social media. "It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas."
It is currently unclear when Gonzales will formally resign. A spokesperson for Gonzales did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gonzales has come under bipartisan pressure to immediately step aside or face expulsion following his acknowledgment of an affair with his former staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, who later died by setting herself on fire.
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., has vowed to move forward with her expulsion resolution if Gonzales does not quickly resign.
"He has until 2PM tomorrow—when we will file his expulsion. He better write that resignation "effective immediately," Leger Fernandez wrote on social media.
He first admitted to an affair with Santos-Aviles during a radio interview in March after repeatedly denying the existence of a sexual relationship.
"I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions," Gonzales told conservative radio host Joe Pags during the interview. "Since then, I've reconciled with my wife, Angel. I've asked God to forgive me, which he has, and my faith is as strong as ever."
Gonzales, who is married and has six children, has not acknowledged a second accusation of sexual misconduct with a former aide reported by The San Antonio-Express News.
Lawmakers are prohibited from engaging in sexual relationships with staffers, per House rules.
His announcement came just an hour after Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said he planned to resign from the lower chamber amid serious allegations of sexual misconduct and rape. The California Democrat has not specified the particular day he plans to leave office.
REP TONY GONZALES ANNOUNCES HE WILL NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION AMID HOUSE ETHICS INVESTIGATION INTO AFFAIR
Swalwell, too, was facing a potential expulsion vote that Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., was pressuring House GOP leadership to bring to the floor by Wednesday.
"The actions of these two Members reflect poorly on every single one of us," Luna wrote in a letter to colleagues on Monday that was reviewed by Fox News Digital. "We as Members of Congress need to stand together in publicly condemning this behavior and restore the trust we have lost with the American people.
"We are the company we keep," she added.
It takes a two-thirds majority to expel a lawmaker from Congress.
Gonzales, a three-term lawmaker, suspended his reelection campaign in March after House GOP leadership called on him to exit the race.
President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., then switched their endorsements to conservative activist Brandon Herrera, who was competing in a run-off against Gonzales for the GOP nomination.
Both Gonzales and Swalwell were under investigation by the House Ethics Committee. However, the committee is expected to suspend its investigation into both members when they officially step aside.
Johnson had urged lawmakers to allow the ethics panel's investigation into Gonzales to be completed before the consideration of drastic measures, such as expulsion.
The dual resignation announcements could impact House Republicans' razor-thin majority. If the lawmakers both officially resign tomorrow, then each party will have one fewer lawmaker.
However, Congressman-elect Clay Fuller, R-Ga., who won a special election last week to fill former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's seat, R-Ga., is expected to be sworn in on Tuesday.