Texas lawmaker resigns after admitting affair with aide who died by suicide

Texas lawmaker resigns after admitting affair with aide who died by suicide8 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleAna Faguyon Capitol HillBill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesTexas Congressman Tony Gonzales resigned from Congress on Tuesday after admitting to an affair with a staff member who late died by self immolation.Pressure had been mounting against the Republican lawmaker after sexual misconduct allegations against another congressman, Democrat Eric Swalwell of California, became public over the weekend. As criticism of Swalwell swirled in the wake of the revelations, lawmakers opened an ethics investigation and began discussing taking action to oust him and Gonzales from Congress.To avoid being expelled, they submitted their resignations, effective on Tuesday. The move allows them to retain pension benefits after their departure.Gonzales had said last month that he would not run for re-election in November, but faced pressure to leave sooner as more details emerged about his alleged wrongdoing and he faced a congressional ethics investigation. After initially denying any misconduct, the married father-of-six confirmed he had had a relationship with married staff member Regina Santos-Aviles.Gonzales had previously dismissed the allegations as "blackmail" and a "co-ordinated" attack to unseat him.Santos-Aviles died in September 2025 after setting herself on fire near her home in Uvalde, Texas. The medical examiner ruled her death a suicide, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.After Gonzales admitted to the affair last month, Congress took a two-week break. Lawmakers returned this week, and swiftly began taking action against colleagues accused of wrongdoing. On Monday they opened an ethics inquiry into the allegations against Swalwell, which range from sexual harassment to assault of a former staff member.Swalwell dropped out tof the race for California governor on Sunday and announced his resignation on Monday,...