Republican Congressman Tom Reed (N.Y) announced on Tuesday that he was resigning from Congress, effective immediately more than a year after he was accused of sexual misconduct.
“It has been an honor to serve with you all from both parties. I love this institution as it still exemplifies what is best about our government, we are the People’s house. While I am proud that we put people before politics, there is much more to do,” Reed said on the House floor.
“My most profound appreciation is for the people of Western New York. Thank you for giving a country lawyer, the youngest of 12, raised by a single mother whose father passed away when he was only two, the honor of representing you at the highest level. Only in America can such a dream come true,” he added.
“I humbly bid farewell, and submit my resignation as a member of the House. And I wish you all Godspeed,” Reed said during the House floor speech.
He is leaving to join Prime Policy Group, a Washington D.C. bipartisan lobbying group.
Nicolette Davis, a former lobbyist told the Washington Post last March that Reed inappropriately touched her in 2017. She said the congressman rubbed her back and thigh and unhooked her bra when the two were at an Irish bar in Minnesota.
Reed apologized in a lengthy statement at the time saying the incident occurred “at a time in my life in which I was struggling.”
Reed has represented New York’s 23rd district since 2010. New York’s congressional map is currently being drawn by a court appointed ‘special master’.