{"id":68607,"date":"2026-03-05T02:34:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T02:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/rep-tony-gonzales-admits-to-affair-with-former-staffer-calling-it-a-lapse-in-judgment\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T02:34:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T02:34:18","slug":"rep-tony-gonzales-admits-to-affair-with-former-staffer-calling-it-a-lapse-in-judgment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/rep-tony-gonzales-admits-to-affair-with-former-staffer-calling-it-a-lapse-in-judgment\/","title":{"rendered":"Rep. Tony Gonzales admits to affair with former staffer, calling it a &#8220;lapse in judgment&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that he had a relationship with a former staffer who later died by suicide, but alleged the controversy that has engulfed the situation is &#8220;about power and money.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;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,&#8221; he told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tP9nYoGFx4w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">conservative radio host Joe Pags<\/a> when asked if the alleged affair took place. &#8220;Since then, I&#8217;ve reconciled with my wife, Angel. I&#8217;ve asked God to forgive me, which he has, and my faith is as strong as ever.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>CBS News has <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/texts-rep-tony-gonzales-staffer-who-died-by-suicide\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">obtained a text exchange<\/a><\/span> from May 2024 in which Gonzales sent explicit messages to former staffer Regina Santos-Aviles, asking her to send a &#8220;sexy pic.&#8221; At one point, Gonzales responds: &#8220;This is going too far boss.&#8221; CBS News has also obtained a message in which Santos-Aviles told a colleague: &#8220;I had affair with our boss and I&#8217;m fine.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Santos-Aviles died in September 2025 after setting herself on fire. Her death was ruled a suicide.<\/p>\n<p>Gonzales said in Wednesday&#8217;s interview: &#8220;I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic passing. And in fact, I was shocked just as much as everyone else.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The lawmaker spoke to Pags one day after the <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/texas-primary-results-congressional-district-23-2026-midterm-elections-tony-gonzales-brandon-herrera\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">GOP primary<\/a><\/span> in his House district along the U.S.-Mexico border. Gonzales and hard-right challenger Brandon Herrera will both advance to a runoff election in May after neither candidate cleared 50% of the vote.<\/p>\n<p>He also spoke out just hours after the <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/tony-gonzales-alleged-affair-aide-suicide-house-ethics-committee-investigation\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">House Ethics Committee announced an investigation<\/a><\/span> into whether Gonzales &#8220;engaged in sexual misconduct&#8221; with an employee or &#8220;discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The House of Representatives&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/ethics.house.gov\/code-of-official-conduct\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">code of conduct<\/a> says lawmakers &#8220;may not engage in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House who works under the supervision of the Member.&#8221; It also bans &#8220;unwelcome sexual advances or conduct&#8221; toward staff.<\/p>\n<p>Since the text messages were made public, Gonzales has faced calls to resign from members of both parties. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In Wednesday&#8217;s interview, Gonzales suggested that he doesn&#8217;t intend to resign and said he expects to win the GOP primary, noting that it&#8217;s the third time he has faced a primary runoff. In 2024, Gonzales defeated Herrera by around 400 votes.<\/p>\n<p>Gonzales did not offer many specifics on his relationship with Santos-Aviles or comment on the apparent text messages between him and the staffer, saying, &#8220;I&#8217;ll let the investigation play out.&#8221; But he said, &#8220;there&#8217;s a whole lot more to the story.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Asked if he understands why people may be concerned about a relationship between a boss and a subordinate, Gonzales acknowledged that &#8220;it is important that we have the conversation, you know, on workplace environment and making sure that certain things do not take place.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But the congressman also argued that media coverage of the allegations has been skewed, and suggested the controversy is coordinated and politicized.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;From day one, this has been about power and money,&#8221; Gonzales told Pags, saying that people have &#8220;been attacking me for months on this.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Gonzales also said: &#8220;At no time was she reprimanded or rewarded in any form or fashion other than anyone else in the office.&#8221; He said <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/attorney-tony-gonzales-regina-santos-aviles\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">a raise that Santos-Aviles received<\/a><\/span> was part of a &#8220;staff-wide pay increase.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In the past, Gonzales has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sacurrent.com\/news\/gonzales-tribfest-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">denied having an affair<\/a> with Santos-Aviles. He has also suggested her husband is attempting to blackmail him, posting a letter to X last month in which her husband&#8217;s attorney appeared to seek a $300,000 settlement with the congressman.<\/p>\n<p>Gonzales reiterated some of those allegations Wednesday, saying Santos-Aviles&#8217; husband \u2014 Adrian Aviles \u2014 was &#8220;trying to shake me down.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Aviles&#8217; attorney, Bobby Barrera, has previously denied the extortion claims to CBS News, calling it a standard confidential settlement letter and accusing Gonzales of &#8220;trying to play the victim.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Santos-Aviles and her husband, Adrian Aviles, had an 8-year-old son. Aviles said in an interview with CBS News last month: &#8220;You ended a family because of your predatorial instincts.&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><em>If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/988lifeline.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>988 Suicide &amp; Crisis Lifeline<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0by calling or texting 988. You can also\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/988lifeline.org\/chat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>chat with the 988 Suicide &amp; Crisis Lifeline here<\/em><\/a><em>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>For more information about mental health care resources and support, The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.\u201310 p.m. Eastern Time at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org.<\/em><\/p>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n<\/section>\n<p>  <!-- data-recirc-source=\"queryly\" --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"component list recirculation component--type-recirculation  \">\n<p><h3 class=\"component__title\">More from CBS News<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"component__item-recirc-block\">\n<p><h3 class=\"component__title\">Go deeper with The Free Press<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n      <!-- tags --><\/p>\n<section class=\"content__tags\">\n<p class=\"content__tags__label\">In:<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/rep-tony-gonzales-admits-to-affair-with-former-staffer-calling-it-lapse-in-judgment\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that he had a relationship with a former<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":68608,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[645,981],"class_list":["post-68607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-stories","tag-texas","tag-u-s-house-of-representatives"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rep. Tony Gonzales admits to affair with former staffer, calling it a &quot;lapse in judgment&quot; - World News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Republican Rep. 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