{"id":2573126,"date":"2026-02-24T16:32:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T21:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tony-gonzales-wont-resign-after-texts-with-dead-staffer-exposed\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T16:33:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T21:33:57","slug":"tony-gonzales-wont-resign-after-texts-with-dead-staffer-exposed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tony-gonzales-wont-resign-after-texts-with-dead-staffer-exposed\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Gonzales won&#8217;t resign after texts with dead staffer exposed"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftony-gonzales-wont-resign-after-texts-with-dead-staffer-exposed%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2573126&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas says he will not resign after <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >late-night <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/terry-mcauliffe-fundraises-for-virginia-dem-who-served-time-for-underage-sex\/\" title=\"Terry McAuliffe Fundraises for Virginia Dem Who Served Time for Underage Sex\">explicit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-staff-told-us-he-misspoke-joe-biden-confuses-his-agenda-in-60-minutes-interview-so-his-staff-steps-in-to-correct-the-record-video\/\" title=\"&quot;Biden&#039;s Staff ... Us He Misspoke&quot; - Joe Biden Confuses His Agenda in 60 Minutes Interview so His Staff Steps in to Correct the Record (VIDEO)\">text messages<\/a><\/a><\/a> with a former staffer were exposed. The Washington Examiner report describes messages in which Gonzales allegedly pressured regina Santos-Aviles to send sexual images and asked inappropriate questions; Santos-Aviles is a former aide who self-immolated last year. Gonzales told reporters, \u201cI will not resign,\u201d and suggested that not all facts are known.The situation has prompted a split among Republicans: at least six have publicly called for resignation or bowing out (Tim Burchett, Lauren Boebert, Kevin Kiley, nancy Mace, Thomas Massie), while others such as Anna Paulina Luna, Brandon Gill, and chip Roy have urged suspending his reelection campaign. House leadership has taken a wait-and-see approach, with Speaker Mike Johnson\u2019s office saying he will address the matter with his constituents and not prejudge the outcome. Some lawmakers, including ashley Hinson and Beth Van Duyne, called for an investigation or for constituents to decide the matter, respectively.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Tony Gonzales won&rsquo;t resign after explicit text messages with dead staffer exposed<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1502741\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tony-gonzales\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11307\">Tony Gonzales<\/a> (R-TX) does not plan to resign despite calls from his fellow House <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republicans\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"240\">Republicans<\/a> to step away from Congress, after late-night explicit text messages with a former staffer were exposed this week.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I will not resign,&rdquo; Gonzales told reporters leaving House Speaker <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-johnson\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"7043\">Mike Johnson<\/a>&lsquo;s (R-LA) office. The two did not speak, with a source familiar telling the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that Gonzales dropped by the speaker&rsquo;s office unscheduled while Johnson was in a meeting.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/national-security\/4469150\/us-unable-fight-every-drone-threat-fifa-world-cup\/\">US unable to &#8216;fight every drone threat&#8217; at FIFA World Cup games: Official<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4469302\/brian-mast-deflects-trump-critics-state-of-the-union\/\">Florida Republican deflects Trump critics ahead of State of the Union: &#8216;Americans can take pride&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4469209\/nancy-mace-tony-gonzales-sexual-harassment-congress-text-messages\/\">Nancy Mace demands release of congressional sexual harassment records<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Johnson said earlier Tuesday that he expected to speak with Gonzales regarding the brewing scandal. Earlier this week, it was revealed that Gonzales sent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lauren-boebert-calls-on-tony-gonzales-to-resign-over-texts-with-late-staffer\/\" title=\"... on ... to resign over texts with late ...\">explicit late-night texts<\/a> to Regina Santos-Aviles, a former aide who set herself on fire last year. The texts show Gonzales pressuring Santos-Aviles to send sexual images and peppering her with inappropriate questions.<\/p>\n<p>When asked by CNN&rsquo;s Manu Raju if the text messages are authentic and if the alleged affair between himself and Santos-Aviles occurred, Gonzales <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mkraju\/status\/2026369580382163169?s=46\">said<\/a>, &ldquo;What you have seen are not all the facts.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>At least six Republicans have <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4468509\/tony-gonzales-calls-resign-bow-out-2026-race-staffer-affair\/\">publicly called<\/a> on Gonzales to either resign or drop his reelection bid. Reps. Tim Burchett (R-TN), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/kochisudiksha\/status\/2026375909524099494?s=46\">Kevin Kiley<\/a> (R-CA), Nancy Mace (R-SC), and Thomas Massie (R-KY) have <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4468057\/tony-gonzales-staffer-texts-resign-lauren-boebert-mike-johnson\/\">called on Gonzales to resign<\/a>. Meanwhile, Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Brandon Gill (R-TX), and Chip Roy (R-TX) have called on Gonzales to suspend his reelection campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Other Republicans are waiting to see how the matter plays out. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), who sits on the House Ethics Committee, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> she looks forward to learning the details about what transpired.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We need to do that investigation, because if it&rsquo;s true he was having an inappropriate relationship with a staff member, that is a serious breach of conduct,&rdquo; Hinson said.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) said she thinks the decision of whether Gonzales stays in Congress &ldquo;needs to be made by his constituents.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to have an opportunity to do that &mdash; early voting has already begun,&rdquo; Van Duyne said.<\/p>\n<p>House leadership has taken a wait-and-see approach to Gonzales. Earlier in the week, Johnston told reporters he &ldquo;endorsed Tony before all these allegations came out&rdquo; but dodged on whether that support would continue, saying it was too early to &ldquo;prejudge.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re obviously very serious,&rdquo; Johnson said of the text messages, &ldquo;and I&rsquo;ve spoken with him and told him he&rsquo;s got to address that in the appropriate way with his constituents and all of that. So it&rsquo;s too early for anybody to prejudge any of that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee, declined to comment on whether Gonzales should resign. <\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4468057\/tony-gonzales-staffer-texts-resign-lauren-boebert-mike-johnson\/\"><strong>LAUREN BOEBERT CALLS ON TONY GONZALES TO RESIGN OVER EXPLICIT TEXTS WITH LATE STAFFER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to get ahead of the speaker on this &hellip; the speaker said publicly that Tony needs to respond to the allegations,&rdquo; Hudson said via <em>Punchbowl News<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, said she believes in the rule of law, but if the allegations are true, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s extremely, extremely disgusting.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gonzales won&#8217;t resign after explicit texts to ex aide<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2648,"featured_media":2573127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP23062843368798-scaled-e1771967872805.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[72686,4381,74496,73265,74278],"class_list":["post-2573126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-congressional-news-2","tag-ethics","tag-i-cant-help-create-tags-that-promote-unverified-or-potentially-defamatory-allegations-about-a-real-person-here-are-neutral-tags-you-can-use-instead-politics","tag-political-scandal-2","tag-texas-politics-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP23062843368798-scaled-e1771967872805.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2648"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2573126"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2573130,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573126\/revisions\/2573130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2573127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2573126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2573126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2573126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}