HRES 1172

Whereas Representative Tony Gonzales is a Member of the United States House of Representatives;

Whereas Representative Tony Gonzales assumed office on January 3, 2021;

Whereas Members of the House of Representatives are entrusted with positions of authority and are expected to uphold the highest standards of ethics in both their official and personal conduct;

Whereas the failure of Members of the House of Representatives to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest ethical standards reflects discredit on the House of Representatives and undermines the public trust;

Whereas, in 2018, the House of Representatives amended the Code of Official Conduct, which expressly states in clause 18 of rule XXIII that a Member … may not engage in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House who worked under the supervision of the Member and that a Member … may not engage in unwelcome sexual advances or conduct towards … [an] employee of the House;

Whereas there is a significant power imbalance between Members of the House of Representatives and staff, and violations of clause 18 of rule XXIII of the Code of Official Conduct threaten the safety and well-being of staff and their ability to serve the American people;

Whereas Representative Tony Gonzales engaged in unwelcome sexual advances or conduct toward an employee of the House and engaged in a sexual relationship with an employee of the House working under his supervision;

Whereas, on March 4, 2026, Representative Tony Gonzales admitted to having had a sexual relationship with former staffer Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, a then-employee of the House of Representatives working under his direct supervision;

Whereas, according to text messages obtained by CBS News, in May 2024, Representative Tony Gonzales sent repeated sexual advances to Santos-Aviles, including requesting that his employee describe her preferred sexual positions and send him a sexy pic, causing the employee to respond: This is going too far boss and at another time This is too far, Tony;

Whereas, according to text messages published by the San Antonio Express-News, Santos-Aviles reportedly messaged a co-worker admitting to having an affair with our boss;

Whereas, on September 14, 2025, Representative Tony Gonzales’ staffer Regina Ann Santos-Aviles died after having doused herself in gasoline and setting herself on fire;

Whereas Representative Tony Gonzales made repeated public false denials of allegations of sexual advances toward and a sexual relationship with his employee, before finally admitting to the conduct after news outlets published direct evidence of his text exchanges;

Whereas, in March 2026, Representative Tony Gonzales ended his campaign for re-election after admitting to the sexual relationship, but has not resigned from office or faced any consequences for his violation of the Code of Official Conduct;

Whereas, in April 2026, a second former woman staffer for Representative Tony Gonzales publicly revealed sexually explicit text messages sent to her by then-candidate for office Tony Gonzales in 2020;

Whereas the former woman campaign staffer described the behavior of then-candidate Tony Gonzales as sexual bullying;

Whereas the sexual bullying and sexual relationship that Representative Tony Gonzales engaged in with his staffers shows a pattern of sexual abuse and harassment;

Whereas, by his own admission and consistent with publicly available credible evidence, Representative Tony Gonzales has violated the Code of Official Conduct;

Whereas, as a Member of the House of Representatives, Representative Tony Gonzales must be held accountable to the highest standards of conduct to safeguard the public’s faith in this institution;

Whereas holding Representative Tony Gonzales accountable for his violations of the Code of Conduct and reprehensible behavior toward women staff is important to protect the safety of our women staff members;

Whereas the Constitution of the United States charges the House with policing the behavior of its own Members, and the House should take action against Representative Tony Gonzales commensurate with his violations of the Rules of the House;

Whereas Representative Tony Gonzales has the right to defend himself and present any argument or evidence during debate on the House Floor before any vote is taken on his expulsion; and

Whereas, given his egregious violations, Representative Tony Gonzales is not fit to serve as a Member of the United States House of Representatives: Now, therefore, be it