Rangel Asked to Resign by Boehner

The House’s top Republican has urged Representative Charles B. Rangel, the New York Democrat whose finances have again come under intense scrutiny, to step down as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee until a House panel has completed its investigation of him.

John Boehner, the House minority leader, wrote in a letter addressed to Mr. Rangel that “as chairman of the powerful House committee, entrusted with the responsibility of writing the tax laws that affect every law-abiding American citizen, you, along with the Speaker and other leaders of the majority party, have an obligation to help set the pace when it comes to standards of official conduct.”

“By relinquishing the gavel voluntarily while the Ethics panel does its work, you would demonstrate your respect for this obligation,” Mr. Boehner, an Ohio Republican, continued.

Read more: (Bernie Becker, “Boehner to Rangel: Give Up the Gavel,” The New York Times’ “The Caucus” blog, 9/04/09)