Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced that embattled GOP Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania will step down Oct. 21 in the wake of reports he urged his mistress to get an abortion.
The news comes just one day after Murphy — a member of the Prolife Caucus — said he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2018.
Ryan said the decision to step down early was on Murphy’s own accord.
“This afternoon I received a letter of resignation from Congressman Tim Murphy, effective Oct. 21. It was Dr. Murphy’s decision to move on to the next chapter of his life, and I support it,” the speaker said in a statement. “We thank him for his many years of tireless work on mental health issues here in Congress and his service to the country as a naval reserve officer.”
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Steve Stivers said he is disappointed in the circumstances but confident the GOP can hold the seat in a special election.
“However, the NRCC is undefeated in special elections this year and I’m supremely confident that will continue,” he said in a statement. “In the meantime, we look forward to seeing how national Democrats can spin yet another special election loss into a so-called ‘moral victory.'”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported Tuesday that the congressman texted his mistress, psychologist Shannon Edwards, pushing her to get an abortion after a pregnancy scare in January.
“I get what you say about my March for life messages. I’ve never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff don’t write any more. I will,” Murphy texted after Edwards called him out for hypocrisy.
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