The Pennsylvania Republican Patrick Meehan announced on Friday that he was resigning his seat in the House of Representatives.
Meehan previously announced that he would not seek re-election, after the New York Times reported in January that he was accused of making “unwanted romantic overtures” to a former staffer and used taxpayer funds to reach a settlement.
As a member of the House ethics committee, Meehan had been involved in investigations into numerous recent cases of alleged sexual harassment and confidential settlements involving members of the House. He stepped down from the committee following the allegations.
Meehan has denied the allegation. In a statement he said: “While I do believe I would be exonerated of any wrongdoing, I also did not want to put my staff through the rigors of an ethics committee investigation and believed it was best for them to have a head start on new employment rather than being caught up in an inquiry.
“And since I have chosen to resign, the inquiry will not become a burden to taxpayers and committee staff.”
Meehan also said he would reimburse the federal government for the $39,000 that was paid to the former staffer, saying: “I did not want to leave with any question of violating the trust of taxpayers.”
Meehan’s action stands in contrast to those of another Republican, Blake Farenthold of Texas, who resigned this month after his own scandal involving a staffer whom he allegedly sexually harassed. Despite a promise to reimburse the federal government for an $84,000 settlement with the staffer, Farenthold has yet to do so.
Meehan represented a swing district in suburban Philadelphia. However, court-ordered redistricting will make the district safely Democratic after the 2018 midterms. Pennsylvania law requires a special election to be held in the current district to cover the remainder of Meehan’s term.
Meehan is the second Pennsylvania Republican to resign this month. Charlie Dent, a moderate from Lehigh Valley, announced he would step down in May. Like Meehan, Dent had announced that he would not seek re-election.
