Charlie Rangel Gives Up the Gavel? Rangel Steps Down from House Ways and Means Chair?

NBC is reporting that Rep. Charlie Rangel, the disgraced chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, will give up the Committee gavel as early as tonight. Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) will be the temporary chairman. See update below.

Charlie Rangel

Some details still need to be ironed out, but sources said Rangel has been pushed to step down before the House voted on a bill to forcefully strip him of the coveted chairmanship.

Rangel has been under fire ever since an ethics committee released a report Thursday that found that he violated House rules by accepting two corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean. Source 

Update 3-3-10:
Rangel announced he is temporarily stepping down until the Ethics Committee probe is completed (after hell freezes over - been going on on multiple charges for a very long time - and this puts Rangel off the radar during elections).

He reiterated that the admonishment from the floor of the House for receiving gifts from lobbyists was the fault of his staff. Rangel said he didn't the corporations paid for the junkets. Take a look at this post from FeedYourADHD, with photos showing Rangel in a room surrounded with corporate sponsor posters.

From The Hill: Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) asked for Rangel's resignation - more like demanded it.



Related Background on Charlie Rangel's many indescretions:
Charlie Rangel's Culture of Corruption
Easier to Defend Jeffrey Dahmer's Diet than Rangel's Ethics