PITTSBURGH _ U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., decided to resign from Congress on Thursday _ one day after the beleaguered congressman said he would serve out his term, and just two days after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported claims that he mistreated staff and urged a woman to have an abortion despite his anti-abortion politics.
In a statement released Thursday afternoon, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said he received a letter of resignation, effective Oct. 21, from Murphy. "It was Dr. Murphy's decision to move on to the next chapter of his life, and I support it," Ryan 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."
Murphy's resignation would leave the 18th Congressional District, which sprawls across four southwestern Pennsylvania counties, without representation until a special election is held. Under state law, Gov. Tom Wolf must issue a writ of election within 10 days of the vacancy, setting a special election date at least 60 days in the future.
There is speculation that Wolf may schedule the election to coincide with next spring's primary. No word on scheduling was forthcoming from Wolf's office Thursday evening.
Murphy's office issued no statement about his resignation Thursday. Initially, he signaled his intention to complete his term without seeking re-election. In a Wednesday statement, he pledged to continue working on his signature issue of mental health, "as well as issues affecting working families in southwestern Pennsylvania."
But that did not seem to assuage Republican concerns, many of which were repeated by national media Thursday, that Murphy could hurt his party even as a lame duck. The online journal Politico, for one, reported that "Senior Republicans did not believe Murphy could _ or should _ survive until the end of his term." Party insiders "also worried additional damaging stories could surface," the outlet said, and shared concerns with Ryan.
Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Ryan, did not discuss specifics of how the resignation unfolded, but confirmed that the speaker and Murphy had spoken multiple times this week.
The 18th District has voted solidly Republican in recent years. But elsewhere in the country this year, special elections have been surprisingly competitive _ even in Republican bastions. And Chris Borick, a pollster at Muhlenberg College, said Murphy's expedited departure may have an upside for the GOP.
"The best thing for Democratic hopes in that district would be for him to hang around," Borcik said. "The longer he does that, the more he's on the ballot even if he isn't. They want his legacy hanging over this race."
Republicans struck a confident note minutes after Murphy's resignation was announced. Steve Stivers, the chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee, called the situation "extremely disappointing" but noted that "the NRCC is undefeated in special elections this year, and I'm supremely confident that will continue."
Democrats responded to Murphy's resignation with a somewhat more guarded statement. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee called his 18th District "a reliable Republican stronghold," but contended "grass-roots energy behind Democrats has proven powerful this year, and we will be closely tracking this district and special election."
"While the circumstances surrounding Representative Murphy's resignation are uniquely disturbing and hypocritical," the Democratic statement said, "he will certainly not be the last House Republican to have an involuntary and embarrassing end to their career this election cycle."
Murphy's troubles started four weeks ago, after the congressman admitted to an extramarital affair with a psychologist he grew close to when she took on an activist role to help pass his bill to increase treatment availability for people with severe mental illness.
Murphy, who is married and has an adult daughter, admitted to the affair after the Post-Gazette prevailed in a court motion to unseal a divorce case for which he was being deposed. That led to this week's disclosure of texts that suggest that he urged Shannon Edwards, the psychologist with whom he was having an affair, to get an abortion during a pregnancy scare. It turned out she was not pregnant.
On Thursday, Pennsylvania Republicans sounded remorseful over Murphy's stunningly abrupt fall. "He was very bright and very committed," said former Gov. Bill Scranton. "He gave off an aura of a guy who had quite a future."
"Heck, I'm very disappointed," said Bob Jubelirer, the Republican leader when Murphy was in the state Senate. "Oh, my goodness. To do that to your family and the public and have that in the public domain, that's what he's going to be remembered for now. What can you do? I don't know that it's ever going to go away. "
.png?w=600)
