Rep. Patrick Meehan resigns, will pay back $39,000 settlement of sexual harassment case

Eliza Collins | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Rep. Patrick Meehan will resign immediately, the Pennsylvania Republican announced Friday.

Meehan was the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation over allegations that he had sexually harassed a former female staffer and then used taxpayer money to pay for a settlement. Meehan had asked the committee, which he used to be a member of, to review the allegations against him.

“While I do believe I would be exonerated of any wrongdoing, I also did not want to put my staff through the rigors of an Ethics Committee investigation and believed it was best for them to have a head start on new employment rather than being caught up in an inquiry," Meehan said. "Since I have chosen to resign, the inquiry will not become a burden to taxpayers and committee staff."

Meehan also announced that he will pay back the $39,000 that was paid for the settlement.

"I did not want to leave with any question of violating the trust of taxpayers," he continued.

Ethics Committee Spokesman Tom Rust declined to comment on whether the committee planned to release the results of their findings Friday afternoon.

Meehan, a married father of three, has denied the harassment allegations but did say he told his former aide they were “soul mates.”

The Pennsylvania representative had already said he would not seek re-election after the allegations were first reported by The New York Times in January.

"I recognize that there are constituents who are disappointed in the manner in which I handled the situation that lead to my decision not to seek re-election and wish I had done better by them," Meehan said.

Rep. Steve Stivers, who heads up the House Republicans' campaign arm, said he respected Meehan's decision and was "pleased to hear he will pay back the taxpayer money used for his office’s severance payment. We must continue to hold ourselves to a higher standard,”

The next person to take Meehan’s seat will likely be a Democrat. Meehan represented the 7th Congressional District of Pennsylvania which was a competitive seat but the state’s Supreme Court redrew the map after ruling that it was unconstitutionally gerrymandered. Under the new map, which will be in place for the November midterm election, what will be the new 5th Congressional District will be weighted heavily in favor of Democrats.

Meehan is the second lawmaker to announce an abrupt resignation over allegations of sexual harassment. Former Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, announced earlier this month he would be leaving Congress before the end of his term. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has asked Farenthold to pay the cost of the special election to replace him.