WASHINGTON — Sen. John Ensign of Nevada resigned his Republican leadership post Wednesday, one day after confessing marital infidelity. Aides refused to answer questions about records showing that a woman on his political payroll received a promotion and a pay raise around the time he said the affair began in late 2007.
Nor would Ensign or aides respond to reports of an earlier affair, in 2002.
Ensign, 51, has said he plans to stay in the Senate.
The Nevada lawmaker is a member of the Christian ministry Promise Keepers and has championed causes pushed by the GOP’s conservative religious base while seeking to raise his profile for a possible presidential campaign.
He resigned as head of the Republican Policy Committee in a phone call with Sen. Mitch McConnell, the party leader.
Ensign’s position within the leadership was a reflection of his popularity among the rank-and-file, but not a single Republican senator came to his public defense in the first hours after his announcement.
The disclosure resurrected questions about a two-week period in 2002, when Ensign abruptly dropped from public view. A person familiar with that episode, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Tuesday the senator told a close associate the absence followed an earlier affair.
Neither Ensign nor any of his aides would name the woman.
Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada-Reno, called Ensign’s announcement "another shot in the gut to Nevada Republicans.”
"The party is in disarray, and Ensign was at least a bright spot. He was respected,” Herzik said.
by the associated press
Nor would Ensign or aides respond to reports of an earlier affair, in 2002.
Ensign, 51, has said he plans to stay in the Senate.
The Nevada lawmaker is a member of the Christian ministry Promise Keepers and has championed causes pushed by the GOP’s conservative religious base while seeking to raise his profile for a possible presidential campaign.
He resigned as head of the Republican Policy Committee in a phone call with Sen. Mitch McConnell, the party leader.
Ensign’s position within the leadership was a reflection of his popularity among the rank-and-file, but not a single Republican senator came to his public defense in the first hours after his announcement.
The disclosure resurrected questions about a two-week period in 2002, when Ensign abruptly dropped from public view. A person familiar with that episode, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Tuesday the senator told a close associate the absence followed an earlier affair.
Neither Ensign nor any of his aides would name the woman.
Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada-Reno, called Ensign’s announcement "another shot in the gut to Nevada Republicans.”
"The party is in disarray, and Ensign was at least a bright spot. He was respected,” Herzik said.
by the associated press
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