Embattled GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales announces he’s stepping down from Congress | CNN Politics

Embattled Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales announced Monday that he would step down from Congress, just days before he faced the possibility of a high-stakes vote that could have made him the seventh member to ever be expelled from the House. The Texas Republican said he planned to “file my retirement from office” on Tuesday, which GOP leadership sources confirmed to CNN meant that he would resign. Gonzales had been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for having a relationship with a former senior aide in his congressional office. It was not immediately clear when the resignation would take effect. Gonzales and Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell have both been under fierce pressure by their House colleagues to resign after allegations that they had sexual relationships with people who had worked for them. Swalwell announced his own resignation minutes before Gonzales. Those two resignations in quick succession Monday night amounted to a stunning flurry of accountability, and a sudden turn in a months-long saga for the Texas Republican. Though Gonzales had faced calls from his own party leadership to abandon his reelection bid, he had until Monday been able to remain in hi