[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1172 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1172
Providing for the expulsion of Representative Tony Gonzales from the
United States House of Representatives.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 14, 2026
Ms. Leger Fernandez submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Ethics
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Providing for the expulsion of Representative Tony Gonzales from the
United States House of Representatives.
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
Resolved, That pursuant to article I, section 5, clause 2 of the
Constitution of the United States, Representative Tony Gonzales, be,
and he hereby is, expelled from the United States House of
Representatives.
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