Gingrich Won’t Quit, Backers Say

With the House Ethics Committee on the verge of meting out punishment to Speaker Newt Gingrich, Republican lawmakers said Sunday that their embattled leader has no intention of relinquishing the gavel voluntarily.

Although it appears unlikely the ethics panel will force Gingrich to take himself out of the running for a second term as speaker, Democrats are demanding that he forgo the leadership post so the House can put the controversy behind it.

Gingrich’s allies, however, said he has no intention of giving up and predicted the Georgia Republican will be reelected speaker when the 105th Congress convenes next week.

“Newt Gingrich is not going to step aside--I’m absolutely confident of that,” said House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas), appearing on NBC-TV’s “Meet the Press.” “He will be elected on Jan. 7.”

Although some conservative columnists have endorsed the view that Gingrich should resign the speakership, DeLay declared that his support among GOP House members remains intact. “We have seen no erosion whatsoever,” he said.

Democrats repeated their demands that Gingrich step down, invoking the example of one of their own, ex-Speaker Jim Wright, who resigned in 1989 rather than put the House through an ethics ordeal.

“The speaker should step down,” said Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) on CBS-TV’s “Face the Nation.” “He should do the honorable thing, the right thing, the fair thing, the just thing, and step down.”

Gingrich has admitted that he violated House rules by providing the ethics panel with inaccurate information and by failing to seek legal advice on whether a college course he taught improperly involved tax-exempt foundations in political activities.

Before his admission, Gingrich had steadfastly denied wrongdoing.

The bipartisan panel is expected to decide early this week on a timetable for determining Gingrich’s punishment.

Republican lawmakers want the panel to act quickly, before members vote on the speaker’s reelection; Democrats have said that the committee should not be rushed, and called for public hearings.

“It should be an orderly proceeding. . . . There ought to be enough time for the special counsel to fully present the matter,” said Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas), who chairs his party’s congressional campaign committee. “There ought to be enough time for Speaker Gingrich to defend himself, either through his attorney or in person. It shouldn’t be a rushed situation, it shouldn’t be an hour before we convene on the 7th.”

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The possibilities for punishment range from a reprimand, which would not require Gingrich to give up the speaker’s chair, to expulsion from the House, which is regarded as highly unlikely.

Democrats, citing the example of Wright, continued to demand that Gingrich abandon his post.

“We want an ethical speaker,” said Lewis. “The Republicans won the election. They have the right to have a speaker. But we want someone who is ethical.”

Frost predicted that Gingrich, like Wright, would eventually resign. Wright stepped down in response to ethics charges involving a book deal and the acceptance of improper gifts from a business partner. Ironically, his chief pursuer was Gingrich.

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), on the CBS program, disagreed with Lewis, saying Gingrich would have unanimous support of Republicans and that “some Democrats will and should” vote for him.

DeLay rejected the comparison with Wright, calling it “a double standard that’s being used by the national media, by people in this town, and by the Democrats.”

Wright, interviewed on the ABC program, said he had done nothing wrong, but decided to resign because “I had become the focal point of a major national controversy that was paralyzing and polarizing the House and totally distracting Congress from its serious business.”