Trump Suggests Gutting TSA After Blaming Shutdown on Democrats

The woman, who worked as the political director for Gonzales’s 2020 congressional campaign but now volunteers for GOP nominee Brandon Herrera, said she approached the newspaper after she heard about his affair with staffer Regina Santos-Aviles in 2024 and its tragic aftermath, sharing the messages with the Express-News. Gonzales had begun the affair after pressing Santos-Aviles for “sexy pics” and describing his favorite sexual positions.

The two would spend time together at another staffer’s cabin in Uvalde, Texas, and one day after Gonzales won his election primary in May that year, Santos-Aviles revealed the affair to the rest of the office. That led to a downward spiral for her, as meetings she set were canceled, Gonzales stopped his regular travels to Uvalde, and her husband became aware of the affair.

Santos-Aviles began taking antidepression medication, and in August, attempted suicide but survived. The next month, though, she set herself on fire and died the next day. Gonzales didn’t attend her funeral. Last month, under pressure from House Republican leadership over the scandal, Gonzales announced that he wouldn’t run for reelection.