WASHINGTON ― House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Thursday called on Rep. Tony Gonzales to drop his reelection campaign after the Texas Republican admitted he had an affair with a staffer.
In a joint statement with other top House Republicans, Johnson said Gonzales is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee and that they’ve encouraged him to address the scandal with his colleagues and his constituents.
“In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election,” Johnson said in the statement with Reps. Steve Scalise (La.), Tom Emmer (Minn.) and Lisa McClain (Mich.).
Johnson’s decision to pull support from Gonzales was probably made easier by the fact that Gonzales won fewer votes than his main opponent, Brandon Herrera, in Tuesday’s primary election in Texas. Gonzales and Herrera advanced to a runoff election that will take place in May.
After denying it for months, Gonzales admitted in a radio interview Wednesday he’d had a sexual relationship with a staffer in 2024, which is against House rules. Last year, the aide set herself on fire and died following what her husband called a depressive “spiral” triggered by his discovery of the affair with Gonzales. Text messages showed Gonzales asked for “a sexy pic” and made other sexual advances late at night in 2024.
