GOP Rep Tony Gonzales Says He Won’t Resign | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON ― Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) received’t hand over his seat in Congress over his obvious affair with a staffer who died by suicide final yr.

“I am not going to resign. I work every day for the people of Texas,” Gonzales informed CNN’s Manu Raju on the Capitol on Tuesday.

Several Republicans have referred to as on Gonzales to resign or droop his reelection marketing campaign after late-night textual content messages obtained by HuffPost and different shops confirmed Gonzales in 2024 urgent a youthful staffer for “a sexy pic.”

According to the staffer’s husband, she and Gonzales wound up having an affair.

The staffer fell right into a depressive spiral after her husband found the connection, her husband has stated, main each to their estrangement and the collapse of her profession. She set herself on hearth and died of her accidents in September.

Gonzales has maintained he didn’t have an affair, however didn’t deny the texts had been actual on Tuesday.

“What you’ve seen is not all the facts,” Gonzales stated.

Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) have stated Gonzales ought to instantly resign from his seat, whereas different Republicans have instructed he should give up operating for workplace. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has stated the matter is severe and that Gonzales owes the general public a proof.

Gonzales has reportedly been referred to the Office of Congressional Ethics for an investigation, which might result in one other probe by the House Ethics Committee, which might then advocate punishment reminiscent of censure or expulsion.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who has stated Gonzales ought to drop his marketing campaign, wouldn’t say Tuesday if Gonzales had defined himself.

“I’m not gonna litigate this in the public square,” Roy informed HuffPost. “Let’s let due process play out here a little bit, and let the ethics committee do its job.”

Roy and different far-right House Republicans had already endorsed Gonzales’ main opponent, a right-wing gun influencer named Brandon Herrera. The Texas main election is occurring subsequent week.