At the Very Least, Deals Will be Made
August 30, 2007
Idaho Senator’s Colleagues Say He Should Resign
By DAVID STOUT
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 — The political career of Senator Larry E. Craig of Idaho appeared to be collapsing Wednesday as fellow Republicans called for his resignation and party leaders ousted him from his committee leadership posts amid the fallout over his arrest in a men’s room and his guilty plea in the case.
A statement by the Senate Republican leadership said Mr. Craig had “agreed to comply” with a request to step down as the top Republican on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, on the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, and the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests.
“This is not a decision we take lightly, but we believe this is in the best interest of the Senate until this situation is resolved by the Ethics Committee,” the statement said. It was issued by Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the party leader; Trent Lott of Mississippi, the whip; Jon Kyl of Arizona, the conference chairman; and other prominent Republicans.
Mr. Craig will retain membership on the committees, but will have no more power than a freshman senator, even though he is nearing the end of his third term and was himself in the party leadership not long ago.
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Senator Larry Craig probably cannot last in the Senate, although I imagine his reluctance to step down has more to do with retirement benefits than anything else that may be floated.
I've not been able to determine just what the financial implication of resignation might be. One would presume that completing a third term has considerable impact.
So, like so many things in the current Congress, this will be more about money than ideals.
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