Republicans are furious with how House Speaker Mike Johnson is handling the controversy surrounding Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales and his alleged affair with an aide who later died via suicide.
Female MAGA lawmakers are demanding that the Donald Trump-endorsed congressman resign over claims he had an affair with his district director, Regina Ann “Regi” Santos-Aviles, who later died by setting herself on fire last September in the garden of her Uvalde home.
According to journalist Rachel Bade’s Inner Circle Substack, some Republicans are also irate at how Johnson has handled the Gonzales situation, with one describing it as “feckless leadership.”
“It’s very clear a decision was made that they wanted this to go away and brush it under the rug because of the [House GOP’s slim] margin,” one GOP lawmaker said.
“They should have never allowed him to run again,” added a former Republican lawmaker familiar with the situation.
The married father-of-six Gonzales—who is up for re-election in Texas’ 23rd District—is accused of having an affair with his congressional staffer. Santos-Aviles is said to have fallen into a deep depression when her husband discovered the alleged relationship, after which Gonzales ended it.
The mother of an eight-year-old boy took her own life in September 2025. Another of Gonzales’ former staffers reportedly told the lawmaker that he was concerned about Santos-Aviles’ mental state in the months before her death, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
The paper also published apparent text messages between Gonzales and Santos-Aviles, showing Gonzales allegedly pressured her into sending a sexually explicit photo and described graphic sex acts. Gonzales continued messaging her even after she warned her boss he was going “too far.”
“As a woman, this is really disgusting to see. Not to mention, it brings dishonor on the House of Representatives. I am so sick of people not calling this crap out,” MAGA Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna posted on X.
South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace added: “This is an abuse of power. Congressional staff serve their country. They should never have to endure predatory behavior from the people they work for. Congressman Gonzales must address these allegations and resign.”
Gonzales has denied the affair and accused it of being a smear campaign aimed at derailing his re-election campaign.
As noted by Inner Circle, Johnson would likely have been made aware of the affair allegations when they were first reported by the Daily Mail last October.
One GOP lawmaker suggested that Johnson wanted to keep the controversy “hush-hush” and avoid forcing Gonzales to resign in order to protect the GOP’s razor-thin House majority.
“Now it’s coming home to roost,” the lawmaker said. “There was no intention of pulling out support for Gonzales had this not become public.”
On Monday, Johnson told Punchbowl News that lawmakers must “allow the investigations to play out and all the facts to come out” when pressed about Gonzales.
“I’ve been intellectually consistent about this—whether you’re talking about Republicans or Democrats—you have to let the system play out,” Johnson said.
The Daily Beast has contacted Johnson’s office for further comment.
