Brendan McDermid, Reuters / Landov
Rep. Anthony Weiner has announced his resignation from Congress. The disgraced Democraitc lawmaker from New York said he had hoped to continue with the work entrusted to him by his constituents, but “unfortunately the distraction that I have created has made that impossible.” His announcement on Thursday was accompanied with some applause by hecklers amid a circus-like atmosphere at a press conference in his home district—in fact, at the Brooklyn senior center where he announced his first campaign for a New York City Council seat nearly two decades ago. Although national figures on both sides of the aisle have blasted Weiner and called on him to step down, his own constituents have generally backed him in polls since the scandal started. It’s the messy end for his lewd photo scandal, which lasted more than two weeks. Weiner said he made the decision only after long discussions with his pregnant wife, Huma Abedin, who had been out of the country. It comes as Democrats were set to discuss stripping Weiner of his committee assignments.