Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that he doesn't believe "it's time" to call for Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales' resignation amid an alleged affair scandal -- as fellow House Republicans have pushed back, calling for Gonzales to resign or drop out of his bid for reelection.
"I think we have to wait for more of the facts to come out, and I don't think it's time to call for resignation," Johnson told reporters.
Gonzaleshas denied allegations he engaged in an extramarital affair with a congressional aidewho died by suicide last fall -- calling on the Uvalde police department to release its report on her death despite objections from her family.
Regina Santos-Aviles, 35, died on Sept. 14, 2025, after she doused herself with an accelerant and set herself ablaze at her home in Uvalde, Texas, Bexar County officials determined.
Texas Republican faces allegations of affair with staffer who died by suicide
Santos-Aviles served as regional district director for Gonzales, who lost an endorsement last week from the San Antonio Express-News following its reporting of an alleged affair between Gonzales and Santos-Aviles.
Last week, Gonzales posted on X suggesting an attorney representing the Santos-Aviles family was seeking an out-of-court financial settlement, which Gonzales described as "blackmail."
"I WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED. Disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death. The public should IMMEDIATELY have full access to the Uvalde Police report. I will keep fighting for #TX23," Gonzales said in the post.
Santos-Aviles' widower, Adrian Aviles, previously denied Gonzales' charge of blackmail while expressing his intent to block details of the incident from becoming unsealed.
Since the allegations of the affair, several Republican lawmakers have called on Gonzales to resign.
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On Monday, Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebertwrote in a post on Xthat Gonzales should resign.
Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, in apost on X, reacted to the allegations against Gonzales, saying "this is really disgusting to see."
"I am so sick of people not calling this crap out. Again, like I've said before, this is not the only case of this crap up here. @RepTonyGonzales, shame on you," Luna wrote Monday.
Fellow Texas House Republican Rep. Brandon Gill also called on Gonzales to drop out of his race for reelection.
"America deserves better. Tony should drop out of the race," Rep. Gill said in apost on X.
Even if Gonzales, who was first elected to Congress in 2020, did drop out of the GOP primary race, he still has until January 2027 to finish out his current term in office.
If Gonzales were to resign from Congress, it would shrink Republicans' razor-thin majority, where Republicans currently hold 218 seats while the Democrats have 214.
ABC News has reached out to Gonzales' office for comment.
On Monday, Johnson would not jump to conclusions on Gonzales and said, "you have to allow investigations to play out and all the facts to come out."
"If the accusation of something is going to be the litmus test for someone being able to continue to serve in the House, you'll have a lot of people would have to resign or be removed or expelled from Congress," Johnson said. "So, I think you got to allow this to play out. I think it is very serious. The allegations are clearly very serious."
