Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) has decided not to finish out his term in Congress, the latest fallout from the exposure of his extramarital affair — in which the ostensibly pro-life congressman asked his mistress to have an abortion.
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), in an unusual statement, announced that Murphy is on his way out in two weeks.
“This afternoon I received a letter of resignation from Congressman Tim Murphy, effective October 21. It was Dr. Murphy’s decision to move on to the next chapter of his life, and I support it. 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,” Ryan said.
The news comes one day after Murphy announced he wouldn’t run for another term — and just days after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette broke the news that Murphy had urged his mistress to have an abortion during a false pregnancy scare.
Murphy had an ardently anti-abortion record in Congress. He’d also been a fairly interesting congressman, crafting and helping push through major bipartisan mental health legislation in recent years.
Murphy’s western Pennsylvania district is fairly solidly Republican — President Trump won it by 58 percent to 39 percent — and it’d be a major but not impossible reach for Democrats to compete for it.
politically live by pushing theocratic moralizing rhetoric, and die - politically - by to said theocratic moralizing rhetoric.
See-ya!
I guess his career was aborted.
Good riddance. I always love seeing Republican hypocrits get it shoved up their ass. Sad.
He’ll be on Fox in 3,2,1. I wonder what led him to this – must be even worse stuff coming out – because a democratic governor will be appointing his replacement.
I thought the seat stays open until a special election. Governors appoint Senators, but Representatives too?
Here is the answer:
Article 1 of the US constitution says:
Clause 4: Vacancies
“When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies. ”
Section 2, Clause 4, provides that when vacancies occur in the House of Representatives, it is not the job of the House of Representatives to arrange for a replacement, but the job of the State whose vacant seat is up for refilling. Moreover, the State Governor may not appoint a temporary replacement, but must instead arrange for a special election to fill the vacancy. The original qualifications and procedures for holding that election are still valid.