The Republican Party of Texas announced on Thursday it has censured U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-San Antonio).
The party said it took the action against Gonzales “for lack of fidelity” to its “principles and priorities.”
According to the Texas GOP, the 42-year-old Gonzales, whose congressional district stretches from the western outskirts of San Antonio all the way to just outside of El Paso, didn’t side with it on at least four matters as specified in Rule 44 of its bylaws.
“The censure of Rep. Gonzales details five such instances on issues such as traditional marriage, second amendment protections, preserving freedom and border security,” the party said in the release.
Uvalde, where a fatal mass shooting at an elementary school occurred last spring, is in the district, some 84 miles west of San Antonio.
Gonzales’ censure originated from a resolution issued by the Medina County Republican Party and garnered support from 16 out of the 29 counties in the 23rd District of Texas, the release said.
It additionally achieved the three-fifth vote minimum set forth by the State Republican Executive Committee, finishing with a 57-5-1 vote.
It was the second time in state GOP history that Rule 44 was invoked, according to the press release.
An Associated Press (AP) article reported that the veteran-turned-lawmaker didn’t attend the meeting of party leaders and activists in Austin as an act of defiance. A spokesperson in his office told the AP he spent the day working.
“He talked to veterans, visited with Border Patrol agents and met constituents,” Sarah Young said in the report. “The Republican Party of Texas would be wise to follow his lead and do some actual work.”
The AP reported that Gonzales is more than a month into his second term as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
He was first elected to Capitol Hill in 2020 and secured re-election in last fall’s midterms.
