SAN ANTONIO – The U.S. Committee on Ethics’ investigation into the sexual relationship between former U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales and a former staffer will not continue because of his resignation, according to a news release.
Gonzales, a Republican lawmaker whose district spanned from San Antonio’s West Side to El Paso, resigned last week after initially fighting calls for his departure following the now-public affair with former staffer Regina Santos-Aviles, who died in September 2025 after setting herself on fire.
The San Antonio Express-News reported that Gonzales also allegedly asked a separate staffer for nude photos and attempted to start a sexual relationship with her during his 2020 campaign.
Gonzales and Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat who also resigned last week after allegations of sexual misconduct, faced expulsion calls from colleagues.
Gonzales’ resignation means the committee no longer has jurisdiction over the investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations, which means the investigation will not be completed and the findings will not be made public.
“Moreover, unfortunately, there likely exist matters never reported to the Committee,” the release states. “As the Committee has repeatedly asserted to the House community, through investigative matters and other actions, it treats allegations of sexual misconduct with the utmost seriousness.”
In March, U.S. Rep. Michael Guest (R-Mississippi) announced the committee would launch an investigation into Gonzales to determine whether Gonzales violated the code of conduct amid what were then allegations that he “engaged in sexual misconduct” with his employee and “discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.”
After months of avoiding questions from KSAT Investigates and other media outlets about his relationship with Santos-Aviles, Gonzales admitted to the affair. The ex-congressman said he “made a mistake.”
Gonzales added then that he looked forward to the ethics committee starting an investigation.
KSAT Investigates reached out to Gonzales on Monday morning for comment, but he did not respond to the request.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.