Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fl.) on Wednesday lambasted her House colleagues for protecting Rep. Anthony Gonzales (R-Texas), who is facing accusations of an affair with a former staffer who died by suicide last year.
During a meeting of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Luna said “it’s really disgusting how this institution protects itself.”
Earlier Wednesday, the House voted down an effort from Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) to publicly release all reports on file with the House Ethics Committee on investigations into members of Congress regarding allegations of sexual harassment of staff or of a sexual relationship with a member of their staff. The lower chamber voted 357-65-1 to refer the matter to the Ethics committee, effectively killing it.
The San Antonio Express-News first reported last month that Gonzales, a married father of six, had an affair with Regina Santos-Aviles, his former staffer who died after lighting herself on fire in September. The Texas Republican, who is heading to a May 26 runoff against Brandon Herrera in the GOP primary in the state’s 23rd congressional district, has denied wrongdoing amid bipartisan calls to resign.
Mace re-introduced her resolution in committee on Wednesday, with Luna slamming Democrats and Republicans who voted to move the matter to House Ethics.
“You guys all protected him,” the Florida Republican said. “My own side, your side. And so if you guys want to talk about victims, if you want to go out and virtue signal, and then you guys are gonna kill [Mace’s] stuff on the floor and then try to pass it.
“Yeah of course, we should subpoena all of this stuff. But just, I’m not gonna sit here and play games. I think it’s a complete fraud. I think that’s why the American people hate us.“
