Republican congressman tells Politico he is to step down amid questions over his use of campaign and taxpayer funds

Illinois representative Aaron Schock, a rising star who has faces several ethics inquiries into expensive trips and an elaborately decorated Downton Abbey-themed office, will resign from Congress, Politico reported on Tuesday.

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Schock, a Republican who has served in the House since 2009, came under scrutiny over the last month after allegations surfaced that he had improperly used taxpayer and campaign funds on lavish activities including dinners, flights in private jets, and even concert tickets.



“Today, I am announcing my resignation as a Member of the United States House of Representatives effective March 31,” Schock said in a statement to Politico. “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,” he added. “I have always sought to do what’s best for my constituents and I thank them for the opportunity to serve.”



Schock’s fall from grace began with a seemingly harmless report in the Washington Post that his office on Capitol Hill was decorated in the likeness of a room in the PBS drama Downton Abbey.

But when Schock refused to answer questions about the office, questions quickly surfaced over whether he had violated congressional ethics rules.

A barrage of media coverage soon followed the once-rising Republican star, detailing his frequent dependence on political donors to help broker real estate and other private business deals. The reports prompted an investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent panel tasked with reviewing ethics complaints against members of the House of Representatives.

The final blow appeared to occur on Monday, when details surfaced of a sweetheart property deal Schock purportedly received from a group of his campaign donors. The report claimed that a shell company linked to Schock paid $300,000 to a political donor for a warehouse in Peoria, Illinois, and subsequently took out a $600,000 mortgage on the property from a local bank also run by Schock donors.

Other reports charged that Schock had spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on office renovations and tried to pass off as official business personal expenditures such as a private flight to a Chicago Bears football game with a software executive.



He is the second member of Congress to resign this year. New York Republican Michael Grimm stepped down in January.