DeLay halts bid to regain House post

WASHINGTON -- Faced with increasing anger from his fellow Republicans, Representative Tom DeLay of Texas announced yesterday that he will no longer seek to regain his post as majority leader. The decision brought an end to the leadership career of one of the most powerful and polarizing members of Congress.

DeLay's announcement was made less than 24 hours after moderate and conservative lawmakers began circulating a petition demanding that he be permanently replaced as majority leader. That effort was launched after the indictment of Jack Abramoff, in a scandal that threatens to envelop a wide range of lawmakers.

The move sets the stage for a potentially divisive vote next month in which Republicans will choose a new majority leader, the second-ranking leadership post in the House of Representatives, as November's congressional elections approach. Within hours of DeLay's announcement, several candidates were reported to be contacting colleagues to line up support.

In a letter to his fellow Republicans, DeLay said he remains confident that he would be cleared of wrongdoing. But he said he recognized that Republicans must choose a new majority leader to move beyond the distractions that his legal woes have brought.

''The United States House of Representatives must be focused on the job of protecting our nation and meeting the daily challenges facing the American people," DeLay wrote.

''History has proven that when House Republicans are united and focused, success follows," DeLay continued. ''While we wage these important battles, I cannot allow our adversaries to divide and distract our attention."

DeLay's ties to Abramoff are drawing close scrutiny, and the Texas Republican is also under indictment in an unrelated matter involving allegations of money laundering in a campaign-financing plan. Under House Republican rules, that indictment forced him to resign as majority leader on a temporary basis, but until yesterday DeLay had insisted that he would return after being cleared.

The New York Times reported on its website yesterday that prosecutors are also looking at questions of influence-peddling by a lobbying firm founded by Edwin A. Buckham, a close DeLay friend and his former chief of staff. The firm promoted the idea that it could deliver access to DeLay, and paid DeLay's wife $115,000 in consulting fees, the Times reported.

DeLay said he would continue to serve in his suburban Houston district. He will seek a 12th term this fall, in what promises to be a tough campaign against Nick Lampson, a Democrat and a former congressman.

The move robs Republicans of one of their most talented and aggressive vote-counters, as the GOP agenda has begun to stall and as President Bush and congressional leaders wrestle with sagging approval ratings.

While members pushed to oust DeLay in part out of fear about their own reelection prospects this fall, the revolt that led DeLay to step aside could send the opposite message to voters. DeLay's decision to resign on the heels of the Abramoff plea might suggest a ''hint of guilt," said Julian Zelizer, a congressional historian at Boston University.

''The dam has broken," Zelizer said. ''Democrats clearly have a big opportunity to develop the theme of Republicans and the culture of corruption. This is a big blow to the Republican Party."

But rank-and-file Republicans had a different read on the political landscape. Selecting a new majority leader will allow Republicans to distance themselves from the scandals that swirled around DeLay, and to develop changes in ethics laws that would show a renewed commitment to responsible governance, said Representative Charles F. Bass, a New Hampshire Republican who has led efforts to hold new elections.

''The person who replaces Tom DeLay as permanent majority leader needs to define an agenda for the party that works, and have some specific ideas about what we need to do with ethics," Bass said.

''It's bad news for the Democrats and good news for Republicans and the integrity of the political process," added Bass.

The House speaker, J. Dennis Hastert had tried to keep the party's divisions under wraps by keeping the majority leader's post open for DeLay while he sought to weather his legal storm. After DeLay was indicted in September, Hastert orchestrated a power-sharing arrangement in which the majority whip, Roy Blunt of Missouri, took over DeLay's job temporarily, and in which other members assumed Blunt's responsibilities.

But with the 2006 elections looming, in which all 435 House seats are on the ballot, moderate Republicans grew increasingly concerned about being tarred by their association with DeLay. They teamed with a younger crop of conservative House members who have chafed at DeLay's hard-nosed leadership style and what they viewed as straying from the party's goals of fiscal discipline and high ethical standards.

The frustrations culminated in the petition drive demanding new leadership elections, launched Friday morning by Bass, a moderate, and Representative Jeff Flake of Arizona, a conservative.

Within hours, Flake and Bass had gathered more than half of the 50 signatures they needed to force a meeting to discuss new elections, and word quickly spread among GOP House members that they would gather 50 by early this week.

DeLay initially dismissed talk of a new election. His spokesman issued a statement Friday afternoon expressing DeLay's confidence that he continued to enjoy the support of a majority of House Republicans.

But any chance that DeLay might have had of hanging on seemed to evaporate by Friday evening. Mindful of the dissension within his caucus, a Hastert aide issued a statement saying that the speaker had always said he would allow members to revisit the leadership situation in early 2006.

It was not an endorsement of a new election. But the statement was an unmistakable signal that Hastert would not lend his political weight to helping his lieutenant regain the post.

''The speaker knew that a leadership election was going to happen," Flake said. ''I was happy to see that Tom DeLay did the right thing, and I applaud him for it. This is the best thing for the party."

Hastert said yesterday that a new majority leader would be elected in the week of Jan. 31, when the House is scheduled to begin its 2006 session. He applauded DeLay's move.

''It is an honorable decision and the right decision for the House Republican Conference," Hastert said in a statement. ''We expect that Tom will continue to help House Republicans succeed with our agenda as we move forward this year."

Democrats served notice that they still intend to use DeLay as an election issue, along with other high-profile ethics-related cases.

Representative Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said the GOP cannot run from what he described as a philosophy' that caters to special interests.

''By forcing out Tom DeLay, Republicans have addressed a party problem, but not the institutional problem of corruption that most troubles the American people," said Emanuel, an Illinois Democrat.

''With the permanence of their special-interest philosophy, a change in the Republican cast of characters simply doesn't matter," Emanuel added in a statement.

Hastert is expected to back Blunt for majority leader, but the race could be a free-for-all. Representative John A. Boehner an Ohio Republican and chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, is expected to be a front-runner. Boehner made calls to his supporters yesterday, and a source close to the congressman said he is likely to run.

Other potential candidates are Representatives Mike Pence, of Indiana and chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee; Jerry Lewis, of California and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee; and John B. Shadegg, of Arizona, chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee.

Flake said the party needs a full debate about its future and the caucus would benefit from electing a leader who represents a clean break with the current regime. He said he has made no commitments.

''Speaker Hastert wants a united front," Flake said. ''But we really can't have that here, because we need the candidates to put together a reform agenda, and say, 'Here's the course correction that I envision.' We don't just need new leaders; we need a course correction, and unless we have it, we're going to be in the minority."