U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, the embattled Republican congressman from Corpus Christi who is not seeking re-election amid sexual harassment allegations, resigned from Congress Friday.
“While I planned on serving out the remainder of my term in Congress, I know in my heart it’s time for me to move along and look for new says to serve,” Farenthold said in a statement.
Farenthold had previously promised to reimburse the government for an $84,000 settlement of a sexual harassment complaint brought in 2014 by Lauren Greene, his former communications director, but he has yet to fulfill that promise. The House Ethics Committee is investigating the allegations.
The resignation was effective at 5 p.m. Friday.
It is too late for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to call for an election to fill Farenthold's seat on May 5, the next uniform election date. Abbot has not yet announced his intentions for replacing Farenthold.
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