Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, stands in the House Chamber at the Capitol, in Austin, Texas, on Jan. 18, 2023. On Saturday, May 6, a Texas legislative committee recommended that Slaton be expelled for inappropriate sexual conduct with a 19-year-old intern.
State Rep. Bryan Slaton stepped down Monday under pressure from conservative groups after the release of a House report that found he had sex with a 19-year-old legislative aide and gave her alcohol.
The announcement came just a day before the House was set to vote on his expulsion, as an investigating committee had recommended.
The Royse City Republican and former youth minister did not respond to the report's findings in his resignation letter, but he said he was leaving in order to "ensure that (voters') expectations will continue to be met by a new representative who will also work hard on their behalf."
"I am grateful to my many colleagues who fought with me to improve our state for all Texans, and to those who, even when we could not agree, extended their friendship," Slaton said in his letter to the governor. "I look forward to spending more time with my young family, and will continue to find ways to serve my community and all citizens across our great state."
State Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, who chairs the investigating committee, said in a statement Monday that he will still call a vote for Slaton's expulsion, as "he is considered to be an officer of this state until a successor is elected and takes the oath of office."
A number of state representatives and conservative groups, including a majority of State Republican Executive Committee members with the Texas GOP, had called on Slaton to step down. The Texas GOP chair Matt Rinaldi had declined to comment, saying he was waiting for the House to deliberate. He issued a statement Monday.
"These actions have betrayed the trust that the people of Representative Slaton’s district put in him as an elected official, and he has rightly resigned," Rinaldi said. "We are encouraged that this investigation signals that the House has entered a new era of accountability where all members will be held to the same fair and high standards.”
The report detailed how Slaton grew close to the aide and invited her to his condo one night and offered her and other Capitol staffers alcoholic drinks. Interviews showed he had sex with her that night, then later pressured her and other staffers to stay quiet about the incident.
According to the Texas Constitution, the governor must call a special election within 20 days after a vacancy.
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