Embattled GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales announces he’s stepping down from Congress
Originally Published: 13 APR 26 18:37 ET
Updated: 13 APR 26 18:50 ET
By Sarah Ferris, CNN
(CNN) — Embattled GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales announced on Monday that he would step down from Congress, just days before he faced the possibility of a high-stakes vote that could have made him the seventh-ever member to be expelled from the House.
The Texas Republican said he planned to “file my retirement from office” on Tuesday, which GOP leadership sources confirmed to CNN meant that he would resign. Gonzales had been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for having a relationship with a former senior aide in his congressional office.
It was not immediately clear when the resignation would take effect. He — along with Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell — have both been under fierce pressure by their House colleagues to resign after allegations that they had sexual relationships with those who had worked for them. Swalwell announced his own resignation minutes before Gonzales.
Behind the scenes, a plan had emerged for a woman from each party, Democratic Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico and GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, to each draft an expulsion measure to force separate removal votes targeting the two members who had publicly faced allegations of wrongdoing. The GOP representative’s measure would target Swalwell, while the Democrat’s would target Gonzales.
Gonzales had already lost support from GOP leaders, though they, notably, did not call on him to resign from Congress immediately. Instead, they called for him to withdraw from his election, which he did.
“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. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas,” the congressman said in a statement posted to X.
Gonzales had acknowledged an affair with a former staffer, a violation of House rules. The former staffer later died by suicide.
Then last week, the San Antonio Express-News published previously unreported texts that Gonzales allegedly sent the political director of his campaign in June 2020, during his first run for Congress. The texts, as published by the Express-News, included Gonzales asking that staffer “What kind of panties do you wear?,” repeatedly soliciting nude photos from her, and describing how he wanted to have sex with her. That alleged conduct was separate from the affair; the staffer who received the texts told the San Antonio Express-News the relationship never became physical.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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