Rangel Temporarily Steps Down

Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill March 3, 2010 in Washington, D.C.

Elizabeth Johnson,
Rep. Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., has requested a leave of absence from his post as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., released a brief statement today saying she will honor his request.

"I commend Chairman Rangel for his decades of leadership on jobs, health care, and the most significant economic issues of the day," Pelosi said in the statement.

The 20-term Democrat from Harlem has been under increasing pressure to relinquish the gavel of the powerful tax-writing committee. Republicans have led the campaign against Rangel; however, in recent days his support among Democrats has softened sharply. Last week, the House ethics committee admonished Rangel for participating in trips to the Caribbean, paid for by donations from private companies. The committee found Rangel's conduct to be in violation of House gift rules. For his part, Rangel has maintained that he was unaware of the source of the funding for the trips. He has said he's paying the price for the actions of his staff.

The Caribbean trip flap is only the most recent in a series of ethics allegations against Rangel involving his personal finances. Last year, he was accused of failing to disclose income he received from a rental property in the Dominican Republic. The ethics panel has not disclosed its findings from this and other investigations into alleged violations by Rangel.


Rangel's announcement comes after weeks of defiant statements that he would not step down. His letter to Speaker Pelosi did not address the reason for his decision. In a press conference this morning, Rangel cited a desire not to distract from efforts by the Democratic caucus to advance health care and job-creation legislation.

Regarding who will replace Rangel as chairman of Ways and Means for the duration of his leave of absence, committee leadership typically reflects seniority among members from the majority party. Next in line for the Ways and Means gavel is Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif. The Northern California congressman has served 19 terms to Rangel's 20.

The government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released a statement of its own.

“Given that he has been admonished by the notoriously lax House Ethics Committee and remains the subject of an investigation into many other ethics violations, it is appropriate that Rep. Rangel has -- at least temporarily -- stepped down from his position as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee," wrote CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan.