Embattled Republican lawmaker, Tony Gonzales, has announced he will leave Congress, stepping down just days before he could have faced a rare expulsion vote that might have made him only the seventh member ever removed from the House.
The Texas congressman said he intended to “file my retirement from office” on Tuesday, a move GOP leadership sources confirmed meant he would resign.
He had been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over a relationship with a former senior aide in his congressional office.
The exact timing of his departure was not immediately clear. Gonzales and Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell had both been under mounting pressure from colleagues to resign amid allegations involving sexual relationships with individuals who worked for them. Swalwell also announced his resignation shortly before Gonzales.
The back-to-back announcements marked a dramatic moment in the House, closing a prolonged period of political tension. Although Gonzales had faced pressure from within his own party to abandon his reelection bid, he had remained in office until Monday.
Republican leaders had privately worried about the impact of his exit on their already narrow voting margin, noting that losing him could complicate efforts to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Speaker Mike Johnson has historically opposed expulsion efforts, arguing they should only follow thorough Ethics Committee investigations.
However, GOP calculations shifted as Democrats signaled growing openness to pursuing expulsion for their own member, Swalwell, amid allegations of sexual misconduct involving a former aide.
Some of the most vocal lawmakers pushing for action included Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, who supported expelling Gonzales even as it risked narrowing the GOP’s majority.
Luna is also involved in the ongoing congressional scrutiny into how the federal government handled investigations connected to Jeffrey Epstein.
The unfolding push for resignations echoed past political reckonings during the #MeToo era, when members of both parties were forced out over misconduct allegations, including Democratic Sen. Al Franken and Rep. John Conyers, as well as Republicans like Reps. Blake Farenthold and Trent Franks.
Behind the scenes, a proposal had emerged for coordinated expulsion resolutions, with Democratic Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández and Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna each drafting separate measures targeting members of the opposing party.
The idea was that each side would lose one lawmaker, effectively preserving the House balance of power.
However, leadership in both parties was reluctant, warning that expulsion votes could set a far-reaching precedent in a chamber where only a handful of members have ever been expelled.
Gonzales had already lost backing from GOP leaders, though they stopped short of immediately calling for his resignation. Instead, they urged him to withdraw from his reelection campaign, 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,” Gonzales said on X.
He had previously acknowledged an affair with a former staff member, which violated House rules. The former aide later died by suicide.
Adding to the controversy, the San Antonio Express-News last week published previously unseen text messages allegedly sent by Gonzales in June 2020 during his first congressional campaign.
According to the report, the messages included explicit and inappropriate remarks to a campaign staffer. As quoted, they read, “What kind of panties do you wear?,” repeatedly asking for nude photographs and expressing sexual intentions.
The staffer later said the relationship never became physical.
