Good Afternoon. About twenty years ago, I stood in this very same room here at the council center and asked my neighbors for their help to take a chance on me in electing me to the City Council. Then some seven years later, I asked those same people to join with people in Queens in sending me to Congress.
There is no higher honor in a democracy than to be sent by your neighbors to represent them in the United States House of Representatives. It is particularly humbling to represent this district because the communities and families of the Ninth Congressional district are hard-working, they're patriotic, they're opinionated, they are authentic.
I have never forgotten my neighbors because they represent the same middle-cla** story as mine. I went to public schools my whole life. My mother was a schoolteacher for 32 years. My father went to law school on the G.I. Bill. The middle-cla** story of New York is my story, and I'm very proud of that.
I am here today to again apologize for the personal mistakes I have made and the embarra**ment I have caused. I make this apology to my neighbors and my constituents but I make it particularly to my wife, Huma.
I had hoped to be able to continue the work that the citizens of my district elected me to do: to fight for the middle cla** and those struggling to make it.
Unfortunately, the distraction that I have created has made that impossible, so today I'm announcing my resignation from Congress-
[cheering and heckling]
So my colleagues can get back to work, my neighbors can choose a new representative and most importantly that my wife and I can continue to heal from the damage I have caused.
[more cheering and hecking]
To repeat, most importantly, most importantly, so that I can continue to heal from the damage that I have caused.
I want to thank my colleagues in the House of Representatives, Democrats and Republicans alike. They come from different places around the country, but fundamentally we all agree. They're all patriots and I will miss them all.
[even more heckling]
Thank you.
I also want to express my gratitude to members of my staff. They're young people who are not paid very much. They're people that work very hard and very long hours. Ultimately, those people define the notion of service. I want to thank of course the many people who have helped me, the people who have volunteered, the people who have given me advice, the many of my constituents who have offered me good ideas.
And of course I want to express my gratitude to my family: to my mother and father who instilled in me the values that carried me this far; to my brother, Jason; and of course to my wife, Huma, who has stood with me in this entire difficult period and to whom I owe so very much.
I got into politics to help give voice to the many who simply did not have one. Now I'll be looking for other ways to contribute my talents to make sure that we live up to that most New York and American of ideals: the idea that leading a family, a community and ultimately a country is the one thing that all unites us, the one thing we're all focused on.
With God's help and with hard work we will all be successful. Thank you and good afternoon.”