WASHINGTON (TNND) — House Republicans say that the scandal involving Texas GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales will play out in the upcoming primary.
Text messages from 2024 between Gonzales and his former staffer recently made headlines.
There was speculation that the congressman and his regional district director Regina Santos-Aviles, were having an affair. Santos-Aviles died by suicide last year.
The text messages show that Gonzales requested a “sexy pic” from Santos-Aviles. Gonzales’ response to the allegations was that he would not be “blackmailed.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked about Gonzales, and he said the primary will determine his fate.
“I’ve said to him publicly and privately, he’s got to address that directly and head on with his constituents,” Johnson told reporters, according to Politico.
“There’s a primary there in less than a week, these things will play out.”
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, declined to say whether he thought Gonzales should resign.
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“I’d leave that up to the voters in San Antonio and South Texas, in Mr. Gonzales’s district, that’s a call for the vote— I’ve always sort of taken that position,” Jordan told a CNN reporter. “In the end, it’s we the people who decide who represents us. There’s an election in seven days.”