WASHINGTON — Federal lawmakers have initiated a formal ethics investigation into Texas Representative Tony Gonzales following accusations that he engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a member of his staff.
House Ethics Committee leadership announced Wednesday that a bipartisan investigative team will examine claims that Gonzales committed sexual misconduct involving an office employee and potentially provided improper benefits or special treatment through discrimination.
The congressman’s office has not responded to requests for comment from news organizations regarding the investigation.
Gonzales, who is currently serving his third term in Congress, has stated he will not resign over these accusations. Speaking with reporters at the Capitol, he indicated that additional information will eventually be made public.
“What you’ve seen is not all the facts,” Gonzales stated.
The 20-year Navy veteran, who served deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan before entering politics in 2020, is a father of six children. This week, he was pushed into a May primary runoff against Brandon Herrera, a firearms manufacturer and YouTube personality focused on gun rights, after failing to secure enough votes in the 2024 Republican primary.
According to reporting by the San Antonio Express-News, text message communications were obtained showing former Gonzales employee Regina Ann Santos-Aviles discussing an affair with the congressman in messages to a coworker.
The Associated Press has not verified these text messages independently. Legal representation for Adrian Aviles, the husband of Santos-Aviles, confirmed that he discovered the alleged affair prior to his wife’s death.
Santos-Aviles, age 35, died by suicide in September 2025 after self-immolation in her backyard in Uvalde, Texas. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office officially classified her death as suicide.
