Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he believes Rep. Tony Gonzales’ primary election, now six days away, will be a referendum on the serious sexual harassment allegations plaguing the Texas Republican.
“I’ve said to him publicly and privately, he’s got to address that directly and head on with his constituents,” Johnson told reporters. “There’s a primary there in less than a week, these things will play out.”
Gonzales has been accused of having an affair with a staffer and pressuring her for sexually explicit photos. That staffer later died by suicide.
While Johnson and fellow House GOP leaders have not pulled their endorsement of Gonzales, several rank-and-file Republicans have called for their colleague’s resignation and many are unsure Gonzales can prevail against his challenger at this point.
Gonzales told reporters Tuesday he was “not resigning” from Congress.
On Wednesday morning, Johnson again called the allegations against Gonzales “alarming and detestable” and deflected when asked by reporters why he had not yet come down harder on the lawmaker.
“How do you know I haven’t?” Johnson said.
He added, “I don’t usually go into detail on private conversations I’ve had with members, but I’ll tell you that what I’ve said publicly is these are very serious allegations. He’s denied much of it. We have to allow the due process here to play out, as always.”
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