WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales on Tuesday said he “will not resign” amid calls from fellow Republicans in the wake of his alleged affair with Regina Santos-Aviles, a former staffer who died after setting herself on fire.
Gonzales’ comments come one day after Santos-Aviles’ husband shared sexually explicit texts between Gonzales and his wife, which support his claims the two had an affair.
KSAT Investigates first reported the Sept. 14 death of Santos-Aviles. Previously sealed Uvalde police records released on Monday show that Santos-Aviles had poured gasoline on herself and then lit herself on fire.
Gonzales refused to answer a question from CNN reporter Manu Raju asking if those texts were real.
“I’m not going to resign,” Gonzales said. “I work every day for the people of Texas.”
Gonzales refused to answer if he had an extramarital affair with Santos-Aviles.
“What you have seen is not all the facts,” Gonzales responded.
KSAT Investigates’ Daniela Ibarra was the first to ask Gonzales directly about the affair allegations in November at a Veterans’ Day ceremony. It is the only opportunity to date KSAT has had to speak with the congressman since Sept. 14.
Read the transcript of Gonzales’ conversation with KSAT before the ceremony.
KSAT’s Daniela Ibarra: “Congressman, my name is Daniela Ibarra, I’m with KSAT. We’ve been trying to get a hold of you multiple times.”
U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales: “It’s Veterans Day, it’s Veterans Day — I hope you’re talking about veteran’s stuff. Are you talking about veterans’ stuff? If you’re not, you should be talking about veterans’ stuff. It’s a beautiful, beautiful Veterans Day here in San Antonio.”
Ibarra: “We’ve been trying to reach out to you multiple times to ask. Multiple media outlets have reported that you had an affair with Regina Santos-Aviles. Is there any response you have to that?”
Gonzales: “We’re here at Fort Sam, at a ceremony, please have some respect.”
Ibarra: “I understand, but veterans fought for my right to ask you questions.”
As several Republicans call for Gonzales to resign, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) filed a resolution on Tuesday calling on the House Ethics Committee to release the list of those in Congress being investigated for sexual harassment and unwelcomed sexual advances.
“Tony Gonzales is just the tip of the iceberg,” Mace wrote on X.
BREAKING: We've filed a resolution directing the Ethics Committee to preserve and publicly release records and reports on all of their investigations into Members of Congress for sexual harassment and unwelcome sexual advances. Tony Gonzales is just the tip of the iceberg.
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) February 24, 2026
There… pic.twitter.com/vcY1zzILDd
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.