Rep. Tony Gonzales said Monday he will retire from Congress, after the Texas Republican faced bipartisan heat for having an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.

“There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all,” Gonzales wrote 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 did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

Gonzales, who is married with six children, initially claimed the allegation was part of a coordinated political attack against him. However, the husband of the staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, provided HuffPost and other news outlets with text messages from her cellphone that suggested the opposite.

In the May 2024 exchange, Gonzales and Santos-Aviles discussed nude pictures:

“You don’t really want a hot picture of me,” she wrote.

“I’m just such a visual person,” Gonzales responded in part.

“This is going too far boss,” she replied.

Bobby Barrera, an attorney for Santos-Aviles’ husband, Adrian Aviles, told local outlet KSAT that Aviles and Santos-Aviles separated in June 2024 after Aviles learned about the monthlong affair. However, the couple did not file for divorce.

“The text messages clearly support that Tony was pushing her to send photos, pushing her to communicate, pushing her into this relationship,” Barrera told KSAT. “So much so that she began to question why Tony even hired her... if the communications were always centered around her attractiveness.”

Barrera also told the news outlet that he believes the affair played a role in her death.

“Regina taking her life is a result of the collateral consequences of the discovery of that affair. And then, after the discovery of the affair, she began to receive different treatment at work,” Barrera added. “All of that was because Tony Gonzales encouraged, manipulated and induced her into this sexual affair as her employer.”

Santos-Aviles, who had been the regional director for Gonzales in his Uvalde office since 2021, died by suicide in September 2025. She was 35.

After the news of the alleged affair broke in February, lawmakers called for Gonzales’ resignation and for an end to his House campaign. Gonzales insisted he would not resign and that the public did not know all the facts.

In a unanimous decision on March 4, the nonpartisan Office of Congressional Conduct said it had “a substantial reason to believe” that Gonzales engaged in the affair, a House violation, Politico reported. The House Ethics Committee then launched a sexual misconduct investigation into Gonzales.

In a podcast interview with conservative radio and TV talk-show host Joe Pags, uploaded the same day, Gonzales acknowledged the affair.

“I made a mistake and I had a lapse in judgment,” Gonzales said. “And there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions.”

Gonzales’ retirement announcement was posted just one hour after Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) said he would resign from Congress following bipartisan backlash over multiple sexual assault allegations.

On Saturday, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said she planned to file a motion to expel both lawmakers. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) also planned a similar move against Gonzales.

“We have successfully drained part of the swamp this week with the resignation of two very corrupt members of Congress,” Luna said in an online post. She also called for Gonzeles’ resignation.

Leger Fernández pushed for the same.

“He has until 2PM tomorrow—when we will file his expulsion,” she said in a social media post. “He better write that resignation ‘effective immediately.’”

In a separate post, Leger Fernández said public outrage and the threatened resolutions from her and Luna were effective in holding powerful men accountable for indiscretions and abuse against women.

“Accountability can happen. We can hold men accountable when they abuse women, and we’re gonna do more of it,” she said.

If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for mental health support. Additionally, you can find local mental health and crisis resources at dontcallthepolice.com. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention.

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