Rep. Charles Rangel denies he’s giving up Ways and Means post

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Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) denied that he’s stepping down as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in the wake of an ethics report that admonished him for taking two corporate-paid trips.

A Democratic source had said Rangel was likely to ‘temporarily’ relinquish his post amid rising concern among some Democrats that his troubles posed a political risk. The source spoke anonymously to discuss a sensitive internal party matter.

Asked if he was still chairman Tuesday evening, Rangel said: ‘You bet your life.’ Pressed if he was planning to step down temporarily, he said, ‘No.’

Rangel issued his denials after meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) to discuss his fate. Pelosi, emerging from her office after Rangel, said she had no comment.

The House ethics committee says Rangel violated congressional gift rules by taking trips to the Caribbean in 2007 and 2008 that had corporate sponsors. Rangel told ethics investigators that he did not know corporations had paid for the trips.

Associated Press