The committee said Tuesday it “voted to establish an Investigative Subcommittee” to determine “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.”
According to the announcement, the inquiry will examine allegations that Gonzales may have “engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his congressional office; and/or discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.”
The committee also emphasized that the step does not represent a finding of wrongdoing. “The Committee notes that the mere fact of establishing an Investigative Subcommittee does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred,” the statement explained.
The announcement comes after a prior probe by the Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC), the independent congressional ethics watchdog. Punchbowl News previously reported the OCC had been examining allegations of an extramarital relationship between Gonzales and a staff member, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, who worked in his office from 2021 until her death. Under House rules, members are prohibited from engaging in a “sexual relationship” with an employee under their supervision.
Santos-Aviles, 35, died in September 2025 after pouring gasoline on herself and setting herself on fire at her home in Uvalde, Texas. She left behind an eight-year-old son and a husband, from whom she had been separated for several months. Family members maintained she did not intentionally start the fire. Surveillance footage obtained by investigators showed she was alone when the blaze began, and the Uvalde Police Department stated it did not suspect anyone else was involved or that foul play had occurred.
Reports about the alleged relationship emerged after her death. Gonzales has previously denied having an affair with Santos-Aviles.
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