(CNN) Missouri House and Senate leaders announced Thursday night that they have gathered enough support from lawmakers to call the state legislature into a special session for impeachment proceedings against Gov. Eric Greitens.

The announcement follows a series of dire developments for Greitens, a former Republican rising star, including two felony charges: one stemming from a photo he allegedly took of a woman with whom he had an affair and another relating to his campaign's alleged procurement of a nonprofit donor list without the charity's knowledge.

But the decision by state lawmakers to consider impeaching the governor adds a new layer to Greitens' woes given that the Statehouse is firmly controlled by his own party.

"This path is not the one that I would have chosen for Missourians or my colleagues," said Missouri House Speaker Todd Richardson, a Republican. "I have hoped from the beginning of this process that the committee would find no wrongdoing so we could bring this issue to a close. ... Unfortunately, this is where the facts led."

"We will not avoid doing what is right just because it is hard, just because it is the path we hoped not to travel," Richardson added.

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