JUST IN: Scandal-Plagued GOP Congressman Announces Resignation

U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) announced Monday that he will resigning from Congress in the coming days. The announcement comes just hours after U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) announced his own resignation.

“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,” Gonzales, who currently represents Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, announced in an X post. “It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas,” he added.

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.

— Rep. Tony Gonzales (@RepTonyGonzales) April 13, 2026

Gonzales’ announcement comes a little over a month after the congressman suspended his re-election campaign after admitting to having an affair with a staffer who later took her own life. House leadership, as well as a number of his colleagues, urged him to drop out after he advanced to a runoff against Second Amendment activist and gun YouTuber Brandon Herrera.

Gonzales acknowledged the relationship during a March 4 interview on the conservative radio program “The Joe Pags Show.”

“I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” he said after weeks of speculation over the reports. “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.”

The former staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, who worked as a regional director in Gonzales’ district office, died by suicide in September 2025. Reports indicate that Santos-Aviles had confided in a colleague about the relationship in 2024, including a text message screenshot in which she referenced an “affair with our boss.”

Gonzales eventually admitted to the relationship when announcing the suspension of his campaign last month.

The retirement announcement comes just hours after Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA)  — who has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women — announced his own resignation. There had been a growing effort in the House to expel both members if the matter was not resigned ahead of time.

Attention now shifts to Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), who was recently convicted in a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme centered on federal disaster relief funds. Multiple Republicans have indicated that efforts to expel the Florida lawmaker are in motion.

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