Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock is resigning from Congress.
Roughly 24 hours after lengthy questioning from Politico surrounding his spending of taxpayer and campaign money, the 33-year-old Republican said in a statement he will be resigning his seat in Congress effective March 31.
“Today, I am announcing my resignation as a Member of the United States House of Representatives effective March 31,” Schock said in a statement. “I do this with a heavy heart. Serving the people of the 18th District is the highest and greatest honor I have had in my life. I thank them for their faith in electing me and letting me represent their interests in Washington. I have given them my all over the last six years. I have traveled to all corners of the District to meet with the people I’ve been fortunate to be able to call my friends and neighbors.”
“But the constant questions over the last six weeks have proven a great distraction that has made it too difficult for me to serve the people of the 18th District with the high standards that they deserve and which I have set for myself. I have always sought to do what’s best for my constituents and I thank them for the opportunity to serve,” he concluded.
Schock has been under fire since early February for living an apparent “lavish lifestyle” on the taxpayer’s dime, which included a Downton Abbey-themed office. After that, the Associated Press tracked his travels on a donor aircraft. Questions about his spending have only mounted since.
Schock has served Illinois’s 18th District since winning in 2008 — once billed as a rising Republican star.
