Speaker Mike Johnson and his House Republican leadership team are calling on Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) to drop his bid for reelection after he admitted to an extramarital affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.
In a statement, Johnson and House GOP leaders said:
This is a dramatic move for Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain.
However, the GOP leadership is very pointedly not asking Gonzales to resign. Rather, House GOP leaders are allowing him to finish out the 119th Congress. This is where he helps bolster the GOP’s slim 218-214 margin.
Yet the GOP leadership is also responding to growing pressure from within its own ranks. A number of House Republicans have called on Gonzales – now in his third term – to either resign or retire. Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) joined that group on Wednesday, showing that the sentiment against Gonzales is growing inside the conference.
Gonzales admitted in a Wednesday interview with a conservative podcaster that he had an affair with Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, his former aide. Gonzales claimed he has now reconciled with his wife. Santos-Aviles died by suicide in September.
Gonzales is in a May 26 runoff against Brandon Herrera, a gun-rights advocate.
Change in stance. This is a significant posture change for Johnson. The speaker told us in an earlier interview this morning that he wanted to let the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into Gonzales play out. The speaker said that “marital infidelity is not against the law.” We reminded Johnson that the House rules expressly stipulate that members of Congress cannot have a relationship with any staffer they oversee.
Here’s what Johnson said:
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) has filed two privileged resolutions on this matter, one to censure Gonzales and another to strip him of his committee assignments. There are enough House Republicans who have called on Gonzales to resign or retire that one or both of these measures could pass.
The House is leaving today for a week-long recess, so there likely won’t be any floor votes on the Luna resolutions until mid-March at the earliest unless she forces it.
