Texas Rep. Who Demonized Drag Shows Resigns Over Sexual Fling With Aide

A Texas state representative resigned from office Monday two days after a state House committee determined he had a sexual relationship with a 19-year-old woman on his staff after providing her with alcohol.

The Texas House Committee on General Investigating reported Saturday that on or about March 31 to April 1, State Representative Bryan Slaton, age 45 and married, had sexual relations with the young staffer at his apartment complex in Austin. The committee added in its 16-page report that the 19-year-old aide reported feeling "really dizzy" and having "split vision" after consuming alcohol at Slaton's apartment prior to the encounter.

The committee recommended that Slaton be expelled from the Texas state House in light of the report's findings, and a vote on his expulsion is scheduled for Tuesday. Slaton, however, submitted a resignation letter to Governor Greg Abbott on Monday, although his letter did not address the committee's report.

"This is to inform the people of my legislative district, The Governor of the State of Texas, and the House of Representatives, that hereby resign my position as a member of the legislature effective immediately," read Slaton's letter.

"It has been an honor to represent my friends, neighbors and the great people and communities of House District 2. They voted overwhelmingly to send me to the Capitol as their representative in two elections, and I worked daily to meet their expectations. My decision today is to ensure that their expectations will continue to be met by a new representative who will also work hard on their behalf."

USA Today reported that Slaton did not show up for work at the Texas Capitol building on Monday.

Newsweek has reached out to Slaton's office via email for comment.

The House committee's report noted that the representative "has not publicly expressed regret or remorse for his conduct." Slaton's legal team also previously argued that the complaints against him should be dismissed because the sexual encounter occurred at his apartment and not in the workplace, read the report.

The Republican lawmaker is among some of the most conservative members of the Texas legislature, including supporting and introducing legislation to ban drag shows and other "erotic performances" in the presence of minors. In a press release published by Slaton on March 8, the lawmaker wrote that the Texas government "has a strong interest and a duty to protect children from being sexually exploited," adding that his proposed bill, HB 4129, would "stop the sexualization of our kids" at erotic performances.

"This is not a partisan issue," Slaton continued in the press release. "People on both sides of the aisle recognize and believe that children should not be sexually exploited."

Texas GOP members have recently pushed several legislative measures that target the LGBTQ+ community, including enacting book bans for schools and public libraries and pushing for a bill that would prohibit gender-affirming care for minors.

Several Republican lawmakers called for Slaton's resignation after the committee's report, including state Representative Andrew Murr, who leads the House investigative committee. In a Facebook post Monday, Murr said that the state House's vote over Slaton's expulsion must go on Tuesday because Slaton "is considered to be an officer of this state until a successor is elected and takes the oath of office."

State Representative Steve Toth, a member of the conservative Texas Freedom Caucus, bashed Slaton's resignation letter on Twitter for not including an apology about the sexual encounter.

"Inconceivable," Toth wrote. "His resignation gave no apology to the young woman he violated, his wife whom he betrayed or his district that he failed. No remorse. No acceptance of responsibility. He's the victim that rides off into the sunset. That was the resignation of a narcissist."