Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales (TX) announced that he will resign from Congress.
“There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office,” he announced. “It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas.”
Gonzales admitted to an affair with a staffer who later died by setting herself on fire. Gonzales dropped his re-election bid in March after House GOP leadership pressured him to step aside. He remains under House Ethics Committee investigation. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM) is drafting the resolution to remove him.
The House Ethics Committee said upon launching its investigation that the probe centers on “whether Representative Tony Gonzales violated the Code of Official Conduct or any law, rule, regulation, or other applicable standard of conduct in the performance of his duties or the discharge of his responsibilities, with respect to allegations that he may have: (1) engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his congressional office; and/or (2) discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.”
Gonzales’ announcement came hours after Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) said he plans to resign from Congress. “I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members. Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong. But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress,” Swalwell wrote on X.
