Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
MaddowBlog-GOP's Gonzales reverses course, acknowledges affair with late staffer
In the recent past, Republican leaders said an affair with a staffer warranted a resignation. Does the GOP still care about these standards?
In the recent past, Republican leaders believed members who had extramarital affairs with staffers needed to resign.
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-03-05T15:12:13.488Z
As the Tony Gonzales scandal intensifies, the question for Speaker Mike Johnson is simple: Why does the GOP embrace lower and weaker standards now?
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/gops-gonzales-reverses-course-acknowledges-affair-with-late-staffer
One day after Rep. Tony Gonzales advanced to a May primary runoff, the Texas Republican finally acknowledged what many observers already assumed to be true. The Texas Tribune reported:
The GOP representative added that he takes “full responsibility for those actions,” despite the fact that he spent months denying responsibility for those actions. Gonzales, a married father of six, went on to say that he’s “reconciled” with his wife.
The admission likely surprised no one. Indeed, the growing body of evidence that the lawmaker had an extramarital affair with Regina Santos-Aviles, a former aide of his who died by suicide last year, painted a rather brutal picture that made his earlier denials almost impossible to believe.......
In each of these instances, House Republican leaders didn’t simply leave matters to voters. They didn’t care that the members hadn’t been formally charged with any crimes. They didn’t punt concerns to the Ethics Committee. For all of their faults — and there were many — GOP leaders set standards and enforced them when members were caught up in humiliating scandals.
Years later, the questions for House Speaker Mike Johnson and his team are obvious: Do congressional Republicans still care about these standards? If not, why not?
U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, admitted Wednesday to having an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, after initially denying the allegation.
Speaking on conservative talk show host Joe Pags’ show the day after he was forced into a runoff in his primary, Gonzales called the affair a ‘mistake’ and a ‘lapse in judgment.’
The GOP representative added that he takes “full responsibility for those actions,” despite the fact that he spent months denying responsibility for those actions. Gonzales, a married father of six, went on to say that he’s “reconciled” with his wife.
The admission likely surprised no one. Indeed, the growing body of evidence that the lawmaker had an extramarital affair with Regina Santos-Aviles, a former aide of his who died by suicide last year, painted a rather brutal picture that made his earlier denials almost impossible to believe.......
In each of these instances, House Republican leaders didn’t simply leave matters to voters. They didn’t care that the members hadn’t been formally charged with any crimes. They didn’t punt concerns to the Ethics Committee. For all of their faults — and there were many — GOP leaders set standards and enforced them when members were caught up in humiliating scandals.
Years later, the questions for House Speaker Mike Johnson and his team are obvious: Do congressional Republicans still care about these standards? If not, why not?