--- title: Here Are 6 Congressional Leaders Who Resigned Over Scandals description: With House Whip Steve Scalise facing controversy, here's a look at six congressional leaders who resigned their posts over scandals. canonical: https://time.com/3649599/politicians-scandal-congress-scalise/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-30T16:29:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:28.840Z article:section: Politics og:title: Here Are 6 Congressional Leaders Who Resigned Over Scandals og:description: With House Whip Steve Scalise facing controversy, here's a look at six congressional leaders who resigned their posts over scandals. og:url: https://time.com/3649599/politicians-scandal-congress-scalise/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdea5885f1f54d931/6987777fe20a876812a84429/politician-sandals-008.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Rep Jim Wright speaking to press after mtg w Pres Reagan og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here Are 6 Congressional Leaders Who Resigned Over Scandals twitter:description: With House Whip Steve Scalise facing controversy, here's a look at six congressional leaders who resigned their posts over scandals. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdea5885f1f54d931/6987777fe20a876812a84429/politician-sandals-008.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here Are 6 Congressional Leaders Who Resigned Over Scandals  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Dec 30, 2014 4:29 PM UTC  In 1989, Rep. Jim Wright (D-Texas) became the first House Speaker to resign over scandal. He abdicated his post after a yearlong ethics investigation found he had accepted improper gifts and mishandled his speaking profits, among other finance violations. In 1989, Rep. Jim Wright (D-Texas) became the first House Speaker to resign over scandal. He abdicated his post after a yearlong ethics investigation found he had accepted improper gifts and mishandled his speaking profits, among other finance violations.Diana Walker—Time and Life Pictures/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Dec 30, 2014 4:29 PM UTC A member of the House Republican leadership is facing controversy over having [addressed a conference of white supremacists in 2002](http://time.com/3648972/steve-scalise-white-supremacists/). But Rep. Steve Scalise, the House Majority Whip, is not the first congressional leader to face a scandal. Here’s a look at six lawmakers who ended up resigning over scandals.  Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tx.) stepped down from his post as House majority leader in 2005 when a Texas grand jury indicted him on a conspiracy charge in his management of campaign finances. His corruption conviction was overturned in October. Carolyn Kaster—AP  In 1989, Rep. Jim Wright (D-Texas) became the first House Speaker to resign over scandal. He abdicated his post after a yearlong ethics investigation found he had accepted improper gifts and mishandled his speaking profits, among other finance violations. Diana Walker—Time and Life Pictures/Getty Images  Rep. Bob Livingston (R-La.) faced a sex scandal at the exact worst time: right as Republicans were calling for the impeachment of President Clinton. Livingston stepped down from the speakership in 1998 amid threats that details of his own affairs would be brought to light. Paul J. Richards—AFP/Getty Images  Rep. Tony Coelho (D-Calif.) was the third-ranking member of House Democratic leadership and resigned from Congress altogether as he faced a 1989 ethics probe into his personal finances. Paul Morigi—WireImage  Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott resigned as the Senate majority leader in 2002 after he made comments supporting the segregationist 1948 presidential campaign of Strom Thurmond. But Lott made a comeback five years later when he was elected minority whip. Jason Reed—Reuters  Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) was formally reprimanded by the House and forced to pay a $300,000 penalty for violating tax law and lying to the investigating panel. He didn’t resign over the scandal, but it weakened his support among his Republican base. T.J. Kirkpatrick—Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3649599/politicians-scandal-congress-scalise/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3649599/politicians-scandal-congress-scalise/"},"headline":"Here Are 6 Congressional Leaders Who Resigned Over Scandals","datePublished":"2014-12-30T16:29:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:28.840Z","description":"With House Whip Steve Scalise facing controversy, here's a look at six congressional leaders who resigned their posts over scandals.","url":"https://time.com/3649599/politicians-scandal-congress-scalise/","keywords":["Congress","Senate","house","Scandal","photography","newt gingrich"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdea5885f1f54d931/6987777fe20a876812a84429/politician-sandals-008.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdea5885f1f54d931/6987777fe20a876812a84429/politician-sandals-008.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Rep Jim Wright speaking to press after mtg w Pres Reagan","caption":"UNITED STATES - MARCH 01: Rep. 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