In an interview Wednesday, Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas acknowledged for the first time that he had an affair with former aide Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, who later died after setting herself on fire. Gonzales said he “made a mistake and I had a lapse in judgment” and took “full responsibility” for his actions, while also saying he reconciled with his wife and asked God for forgiveness. His acknowledgment came the same day the House Ethics Committee said it was initiating an investigation into him.
The ethics inquiry was announced after the committee’s top Republican and Democratic members said they were launching a process through an investigative panel. In their joint statement, they said the panel would look into whether Gonzales engaged in sexual misconduct toward an employee in his office and whether he discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.
Gonzales’ interview on the “Joe Pags Show” focused on questions about his relationship with Santos-Aviles. When asked whether he had a relationship with her, he said: “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 he looked forward to the Ethics Committee investigation and added that there would be opportunities for “all the details and facts to come out,” language he had also used with reporters earlier at the Capitol.
Gonzales also addressed the circumstances surrounding Santos-Aviles’ death. He said he was shocked when he learned of her death, that he had not spoken to her since June 2024, and that she died in September 2025. The Associated Press reported that Santos-Aviles, 35, died after setting herself on fire in the backyard of her home in Uvalde, Texas, and that the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled the death a suicide.
The reporting that preceded Gonzales’ acknowledgment included claims of communications about the affair. The San Antonio Express-News reported it had obtained text messages in which Santos-Aviles wrote to a colleague that she had an affair with the congressman; the AP said it had not independently obtained copies of the messages. A lawyer for Adrian Aviles, Santos-Aviles’ husband, said the husband found out about the affair before his wife’s death.
Gonzales was also pressed about whether he could remain effective as some members of his own party called for his resignation. He told the show, “I absolutely can, and I am,” and he did not say he would step down. His ethics-committee acknowledgment did not come alongside any pledge to resign from office, and he continued to frame the situation as one that would be clarified as the investigation proceeds.
The case adds another pressure point for Gonzales as he prepares for politics in Texas. Gonzales, now in his third term, previously won his seat in 2020 after retiring from a 20-year career in the Navy that included time in Iraq and Afghanistan. On Tuesday, he was forced into a May runoff against Brandon Herrera, a gun manufacturer and YouTube gun-rights influencer who narrowly lost to Gonzales in the 2024 primary.
House ethics rules generally bar members of Congress from engaging in sexual relationships with any employee of the House under their supervision. The committee’s statement indicated its investigation would consider whether Gonzales violated those standards, and whether other allegations involving discrimination through special access or privileges have merit as the panel reviews the underlying conduct.