Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) confirmed that he would be filing to retire from Congress after he admitted to having an affair with a former aide who committed suicide last year.
“There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all,” Gonzales wrote in a post on X. “When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas.”
Gonzales’s announcement comes after he previously confirmed in March, during a radio interview on The Joe Pags Show, that he had “made a mistake” and that he took “full responsibility for those actions.”
“I made a mistake,” Gonzales said. “I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith. I take full responsibility for those actions. 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’s confirmation of his affair came after a former unnamed staffer for Gonzales told the San Antonio Express-News that Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, who had been Gonzales’s “regional district director,” admitted to having an affair with the congressman in 2024.
In September 2025, Santos-Aviles died after she “poured gasoline over herself and was engulfed in flames”:
The former staffer said the relationship became known to some staff members during the 2024 election cycle. He said Gonzales stayed at the ex-staffer’s family’s rental cabin on Concan, near Uvalde, during the primary campaign, and that on two occasions in May 2024, Gonzales and Santos-Aviles went there together and stayed for one to two hours.
He said Santos-Aviles called him crying and distraught two weeks later to say her husband, Adrian Aviles, had discovered text messages that revealed her relationship with Gonzales. She told the staffer they had been having an affair. It was May 29, the day after Gonzales narrowly won a GOP primary runoff election against Brandon Herrera. He said Aviles later texted a group of Gonzales’ legislative district staffers to expose the relationship.
The House Ethics Committee announced in March that it was investigating Gonzales over reports of his affair with his former aide, who died after setting herself ablaze.
“In accordance with House Rule XI, clause 3, and Committee Rule 10(a)(2), the Committee voted to establish an Investigative Subcommittee,” the statement said. “Pursuant to the Committee’s action, at this time, the Investigative Subcommittee shall have jurisdiction to determine whether Representative Tony Gonzales violated the Code of Official Conduct or any law, rule, regulation, or other applicable standard of conduct in the performance of his duties or the discharge of his responsibilities, with respect to allegations that he may have: (1) engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his congressional office; and/or (2) discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.”
Gonzales’s announcement comes after Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) announced that he would be resigning from Congress after he was accused of sexually assaulting a former staffer.
