Ernest Anthony “Tony” Gonzales II^[1] (born October 10, 1980)^[2] is an American politician and United States Navy veteran who has served as the U.S. representative for Texas’s 23rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2021.^[3] He is a member of the Republican Party.

Gonzales is considered a moderate Republican, having voted for proposals such as the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the Respect for Marriage Act. These votes resulted in a censure from the Texas Republican Party. He is also one of 18 Republicans who voted against Jim Jordan’s nomination for Speaker of the House all three times, and only Republican to have voted against the House rules package afterwards.^[4]

Gonzales votes have prompted several conservative primary challengers in 2024. Failing to receive a majority of the vote in the primary, Gonzales will face gun Youtuber Brandon Herrera in a runoff.^[5][6]

Early life and education

Gonzales was raised in San Antonio, Devine, and Camp Wood, Texas.^[7][8] He earned an Associate of Arts from Chaminade University, a Bachelor of Science from Excelsior College, a graduate certificate in legislative studies from Georgetown University, and a Master of Arts from American Public University.^[2] He is in a PhD program at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he has specialized in international development, security studies, and international politics.^[9]

Early career

From 1999 to 2019, Gonzales served in the United States Navy, retiring with the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer. A trained cryptologist, Gonzales was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He was also stationed in Tampa, Florida; Pensacola, Florida; Kāneʻohe Bay; and San Antonio, and assigned to the United States Navy Office of Legislative Affairs.^[10][11]

Gonzales served as a Department of Defense fellow in the office of Senator Marco Rubio and also worked as an assistant professor of political science at the University of Maryland.^[12][13]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

Gonzales ran for Texas’s 23rd congressional district in the 2020 election. The seat was open, as three-term Republican incumbent Will Hurd did not seek reelection. In the Republican primary, Gonzales narrowly defeated Raul Reyes after a recount. During the primary, Gonzales was endorsed by Hurd and President Donald Trump.^[14] In the November general election, Gonzales defeated Democratic nominee Gina Ortiz Jones.^[15] The result was considered an upset, as most forecasters believed that the Democrats were favored to flip the district after Hurd announced his retirement.^[16] Gonzales’s term in office began on January 3, 2021.^{[17][18][19][20]}

2022

Gonzales ran for reelection in 2022. Gonzales ran for re-election in 2022, winning his primary with 78% of the vote and the general election with 55.87% against Democrat John Lira and Independent candidate Frank Lopez Jr.

2024

Gonzales is running for reelection in 2024. Facing conservative opposition over his votes in Congress, Gonzales garnered 45% of the vote in his primary, less than the 50% needed to avoid a runoff election. He will face gun rights activist Brandon Herrera in the runoff.

Tenure

Gonzales voted against impeaching Trump after the events of January 6, 2021, saying that the nation needed to heal and that he looked forward to working with President Biden to do that.^[21]

Like all other Senate and House Republicans, Gonzales voted against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.^[22]

On November 5, 2021, Gonzales voted against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, along with all but thirteen House Republicans. He published a press release on November 6, 2021, saying, “Last night, I voted against the infrastructure bill as it will only lead to more spending for the Democrats and this flailing administration”. The Bill was later signed into law by President Joe Biden on November 15, 2021. Gonzales later published a press release on his official government web site on January 24, 2022, attempting to take credit for the bill’s $75 million investment in the San Antonio River Authorities West Side Creeks Ecosystem Restoration Project.^[23][24]

On May 19, 2021, Gonzales was one of 35 Republicans to join all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6, 2021 commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol.^[25]

On March 4, 2023, the Texas Republican Party‘s executive committee censured Gonzales for failing to vote in line with the party positions, citing his decision to support the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the Respect for Marriage Act (both in 2022) as well as his vote against a House rules packages passed after the contested 2023 Speaker election.^[26] Conservative representatives such as Matt Gaetz and Bob Good have recruited and endorsed a primary challenger to Gonzales for the 2024 election, who Gonzales blasted during an appearance on CNN‘s State of the Union in April 2024, calling them “real scumbags” who “walk around with white hoods“. This came after Gonzales voted in favor of three contentious foreign aid packages for Ukraine, Israel, and East Asia, all of which required bipartisan backing to move on.^[27]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations^[28]
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies^[29]
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies^[29]

Caucus memberships

• Problem Solvers Caucus^[30]
• Republican Study Committee^[31]

Party leadership

• Assistant Republican Whip (2021–present)^[32]

Political positions

Abortion

Gonzales describes himself as pro-life. He co-sponsored the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2021 (H.R. 18), which aims to codify the Hyde Amendment banning federal funding for abortions.^[33][34]

Cybersecurity

Gonzales has cited cybersecurity as “a top priority in Congress” and has supported increased funding for Texan infrastructure against acts of cyberterrorism or ransomware.^[35]

Foreign policy

During the Russo-Ukrainian War, Gonzales signed a letter urging President Biden to give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.^[36]

Gun rights

Gonzales supported amending the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act to remove a proposed red flag law provision. He and other House Republicans signed a letter that argued the provision would infringe on Second Amendment rights and allow “military judges and magistrates to issue military court gun confiscation orders.”^[37]

After the Robb Elementary School shooting in Gonzales’s Congressional district, Gonzales voted for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and cited his experience growing up in an abusive household (including an instance of his father threatening his mother with a gun) as his reason for supporting the act.^[38]

Immigration

Gonzales supports keeping Title 42 expulsion in place and, along with Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, wrote to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra arguing that the removal of Title 42 would encourage illegal immigration at the southern border.^[39][40]

In 2022, Gonzales argued that while the Remain in Mexico policy enacted by the Trump administration had flaws, it had been an effective strategy to prevent illegal immigration and asylum fraud and that repealing laws on illegal immigration and off-soil asylum processing had led to cases such as the trailer deaths in San Antonio earlier that year. In response to the repeal of the Remain in Mexico policy under Biden, Gonzales called for an increase in immigration judges to process asylum cases “in days, not years.” He supports the expansion and simplification of work visas to reform legal immigration.^[41][42]

Israel

Gonzales voted to support Israel following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.^[43][44]

LGBT rights

On July 19, 2022, Gonzales and 46 other House Republicans voted for the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. It would require each state to recognize any marriage performed in another state, and codify same-sex marriage and Obergefell v. Hodges into federal law.^[45][46] It was signed into law by President Biden on December 13, 2022.

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

Gonzales was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.^[47]

Personal life

Gonzales and his wife, Angel, have six children.^[48] Angel served as the treasurer and custodian of records for Gonzales’s campaign.^[49] He is a Roman Catholic.^[50]

Electoral history

See also

• List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress

References

External links

• Official website
• Campaign website
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Appearances on C-SPAN