The embattled Republican, who admitted to having an affair with a staffer who later died, said Monday in a social media post that “God has a plan for us all.”
SAN ANTONIO — Embattled U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, the Texas Republican who dropped his reelection bid after admitting to an affair with a former staffer, submitted a formal notice of resignation to Congress on Tuesday afternoon.
The resignation is effective at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. Moments later, Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California also submitted notice that he would resign as a member of Congress at 1 p.m. CT; Swalwell has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women.
Both lawmakers were facing possible expulsion votes, potentially as early as this week.
Gonzales has been under pressure after initially denying reports that he had an affair with Regina Santos-Aviles, who died by suicide outside her Uvalde home in September. In March, amid revelations that he had sent Santos-Aviles lewd texts in 2024, he appeared on an online talk show where he said he had “a lapse in judgement.”
The three-term congressman dropped his reelection bid that same week; he had been set to face Brandon Herrera in a Republican Primary runoff battle in May.
Gonzales said Monday afternoon in a post on X that he was planning “to file my retirement from office.”
It’s unclear at this point if Republican leaders will call a special election to temporarily fill the U.S. House District 23 seat, which is the biggest in Texas and spans from west San Antonio to El Paso.
This is a developing story.