MOBILE - U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, confirmed today that he intends to resign from Congress later this year and take a job at the University of Alabama.

Bonner, 53, has represented Alabama's 1st Congressional District since taking office in 2003. He was re-elected in November with no Democratic opponent.

Bonner's office had no immediate comment but said the congressman planned a "major announcement" at a 4 p.m. news conference today in Mobile.

Bonner will leave Congress effective Aug. 2 for a position as vice chancellor of government relations and economic development at the University of Alabama System, according to friends. Bonner is the younger brother of Judy Bonner, who was named president of the university in Tuscaloosa last fall.

It will be up to Gov. Robert Bentley to set a special election for Bonner's seat. Bentley's office had no immediate comment today.

The deeply conservative 1st Congressional District sprawls from the beaches of south Baldwin County to rural Clarke and Washington counties.