Multiple Republican members of Congress called on Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas to resign or drop his reelection bid after text messages surfaced that appear to show him pressing a congressional staffer for explicit photos.
The staffer, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, is now dead. She set herself on fire last year. That fact alone should command the full attention of every member who serves in the House.
The allegations against Gonzales gained traction last week after the San Antonio Express-News reported that Santos-Aviles had written to another staffer in April 2025 with a blunt admission:
"I had an affair with our boss and I'm fine."
She was not fine. She is gone. And the messages made public Monday, reported by both the San Antonio Express-News and 24sight News, paint a picture of a congressman who allegedly used his position to pursue a sexual relationship with a subordinate in his own office.
The calls for Gonzales to step aside came swiftly and from multiple directions within his own party, according to The Hill. Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina issued the sharpest statement:
"Tony Gonzales should resign immediately and be held fully accountable for what he's done. She and her family deserved better. And Texans deserve a congressman who does not prey on women."
Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado kept it brief on X: "@RepTonyGonzales, RESIGN!"
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida went further, calling out the broader silence from colleagues and demanding accountability across the institution:
"The entire Texas delegation, as well as every single other Member of Congress, should be condemning a sitting Member of Congress asking for explicit photos of their staff."
Luna followed up with a second post that captured the frustration many conservatives feel about institutional rot in Washington:
"As a woman, this is really disgusting to see. Not to mention, it brings dishonor on the House of Representatives. I am so sick of people not calling this crap out. Again, like I've said before, this is not the only case of this crap up here. @RepTonyGonzales, shame on you."
Rep. Brandon Gill, a fellow Texas Republican, added his voice: "America deserves better. Tony should drop out of the race."
Gonzales has characterized the allegations as "personal smears" designed by his primary opponent to "score political points." He has said he will not be "blackmailed."
That framing might work if the evidence weren't coming from the staffer's own messages, provided to The Hill by Adrian Aviles, Santos-Aviles's widower. This isn't opposition research cooked up in a campaign war room. It's a grieving husband releasing his late wife's words.
It is worth stating plainly what the House's own rules say: members are prohibited from having a sexual relationship with an employee in their office. This is not a gray area. It is a bright line in the House code of conduct, and it exists precisely because of the power imbalance between a congressman and the people who work for him.
Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged Monday that he had spoken with Gonzales and told him to "address that properly with his constituents and all of that." Johnson noted that he endorsed Gonzales before the allegations emerged.
"It's too early for anybody to prejudge any of that, but we'll see how it develops."
That's the language of a Speaker managing a razor-thin majority, not a man unaware of the gravity of the situation. Johnson has reason to be measured. But measured and silent are different things, and the clock is ticking. Early voting in Texas has already opened.
According to NBC News, the Office of Congressional Conduct has already wrapped up its own investigation into the matter. The findings will be transmitted to the House Ethics Committee after the primary ends.
That timeline matters. Texas voters are casting ballots right now without the benefit of knowing what congressional investigators found. The ethics process, by design, will deliver its conclusions only after the election has already rendered its own verdict.
Conservatives who demand accountability from the left cannot exempt themselves. That principle is not optional. It is not situational. It is the foundation of every argument the right makes about institutional integrity, about the rule of law, about the idea that powerful people do not get to exploit the less powerful simply because they hold office.
The left spent years telling the country that "believe all women" was a sacred principle, then abandoned it the moment it became politically inconvenient. Conservatives have an opportunity here to demonstrate what consistent standards actually look like.
A woman who worked for Tony Gonzales told a colleague she had an affair with him. Text messages suggest he pressured her for explicit images. She later killed herself in one of the most agonizing ways imaginable. Her widower is now the one making sure her story is heard.
The Republican members calling for Gonzales to resign are not engaging in a circular firing squad. They are doing exactly what elected officials should do when the evidence points in one direction, and the code of conduct draws a clear line.
Regina Ann Santos-Aviles cannot speak for herself. The least the House can do is take seriously what she left behind.