Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, speaks during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Feb. 10 in Washington, D.C. Samuel Corum/Getty Images hide caption

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Samuel Corum/Getty Images

One day after Rep. Tony Gonzales was forced into a May runoff in the Republican primary in his district, the House Ethics Committee announced it's launching a formal investigation into the Texas Republican.

The panel voted to establish a subcommittee to probe allegations that Gonzales "engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his congressional office and/or discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges."

This comes after Gonzales faced increasing pressure from members in his party to resign or drop out of his race after explicit text messages from him to his then-employee Regina Santos-Aviles were published in The San Antonio Express-News. NPR has not independently verified these text messages.

Santos-Aviles died by suicide last September.

Gonzales has previously denied wrongdoing. His office did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment on the announcement of the ethics probe.

It is against the House's code of conduct for lawmakers to have sexual relationships with staff.

On Tuesday night, Gonzales advanced to a May 26 runoff against challenger Brandon Herrera.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has previously said that Gonzales needs to address the allegations with his constituents, and that he is entitled to due process.

"As in every case like this, you have to allow the investigations to play out and all the facts to come out," Johnson told reporters last week. "If the accusation of something is going to be the litmus test for someone being able to continue to serve in the House, you'll have a lot of people who would have to resign or be removed or expelled from Congress."

The Ethics Committee probe could take months to complete. It will announce the members who will serve on the investigative subcommittee once they are selected.