Scoop: Top Democrat calls for Tony Gonzales' ouster
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Rep. Tony Gonzales participates in a Congressional Hispanic Conference press conference in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
The chair of the Congressional Democratic Women's Caucus is calling for the removal of Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) from Congress and an investigation into allegations he had an affair with a staffer before she died by suicide.
- Gonzales has denied having the affair.
Why it matters: The statement adds to growing calls from Gonzales' own Republican colleagues for him to either resign or drop his bid for reelection.
- "He needs to go," Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told Axios.
Driving the news: "Rep. Tony Gonzales's actions would result in a termination and investigation in any other workplace. The United States Congress should be no different," said Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) in a statement to Axios.
- "There is a pervasive issue in this country that powerful men can take sexual advantage of women and get away with it—from Epstein to Gonzales," she added.
- "Sadly, women end up paying the consequences, not men."
Yes, but: Don't expect Democrats to get too involved in this issue, senior lawmakers and aides told Axios.
- The party is largely not touching the Gonzales scandal, deferring to Republicans to sort it out for themselves.
- There is "never not drama" on the Republican side, one senior House Democrat commented.
Zoom out: The San Antonio Express-News reported last week that Gonzales' former regional director Regina Santos-Aviles sent a text message that appeared to show Santos-Aviles telling another Gonzales aide she "had [an] affair with our boss."
- Santos-Aviles died by suicide last year after outside her Uvalde home.
- NBC News on Monday reported that it had obtained messages showing that Gonzales texted explicit sexual requests to Santos-Aviles.
- The Express-News reported on Monday that Santos-Aviles told first responders before she died that she set herself on fire after learning her estranged husband was romantically involved with her best friend, per newly released Uvalde police records.
In a statement to NBC News last week, Gonzales said, "I am not going to engage in these personal smears and instead will remain focused on helping President Trump secure the border and improve the lives of all Texans."
- Gonzales' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Leger Fernández's statement.
State of play: Gonzales is locked in a hotly contested primary with conservative pro-gun influencer Brandon Herrera in his March 3 Republican primary.
- The political arm of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus on Monday endorsed Herrera, with mostly conservatives calling for Gonzales to go.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who controls the House with a narrow GOP majority, told reporters that while the allegations are "very serious," it is "too early for anybody to prejudge any of that."
