Out of hot water, Weiner now out on his buns.
Anthony Weiner today announced his resignation in the same place some 20 years ago he commenced his city council run.
Just after 2:20 p.m. at a Sheepshead Bay senior center, the embattled congressmember stoically addressed a group of reporters to announce that he would be stepping down from Congress.
“I had hoped to be able to continue the work that the citizens elected me to do,” said Weiner. “Unfortunately the distraction that I have created has made that impossible. Today I am announcing my resignation from Congress.”
In a short prepared statement, Weiner only paused to regroup after being interrupted by a heckler, Benjy Bronk, from the Howard Stern Show. Weiner used the speech to thank and apologize to his family and supporters, specifically his wife.
“[She] has stood with me through this entire difficult period and I owe so very much [to her].”
Weiner became embroiled in controversy after he accidentally tweeted a picture of his crotch that he meant for a direct message at the end of May. He initially claimed his Twitter account was hacked.
His resignation came ten days after his initial tearful press conference where he admitted sending the lewd photos. He said at that time that he had no plans to step down.
In the week and a half that followed, calls for his resignation intensified as more details and photos were released. Top Democrats sought his resignation and even President Barack Obama called it a distraction adding that if it was him, he would resign. According to a national poll that was released recently, 60 percent of Americans believed he should step down.
On Saturday, residents of his Congressional district protested in front of his Kew Gardens’ office demanding his resignation.
“Congressman Weiner exercised poor judgment in his actions and poor judgment in his reaction to the revelations,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said following Weiner’s announcement. “Today, he made the right judgment in resigning.”
Weiner, 46, had been a leading candidate for the mayor’s seat in 2013, but now his next move is unknown.
“I’ll be looking for other ways to contribute my talents to make sure that we live up to that most New York and American of ideals,” Weiner said. He added that he will continue “to heal from the damage that I have caused.”
Weiner requested and was granted a two-week leave from the House earlier this week to receive professional treatment.
Weiner has represented New York’s Ninth Congressional District for the past 12 years after serving six years on the City Council. Even before the scandal, Weiner was noted for connecting with supporters through social media and was perhaps best known for his fiery speech on the House floor over the failed 9/11 health bill.
During his time in Congress Weiner sponsored 191 bills 180 of which never made it out of committee and none were successfully enacted, according to govtrack.us. During that same period he co-sponsored 1,909 bills
