Just saw this on MSNBC online
Rangel to give up gavel
Caveat: it's temporary.
A bit more and my own take under the cut.
The meat of the article, in one quick quote:
But two Democratic sources tell NBC News that Rangel will take a "leave of absence" — beginning Wednesday — until the investigation is over.
The powerful Democrat was encouraged to step aside before the House votes on a bill to strip him of his chairmanship.
"We don't have the votes to save him," one Democratic member said of Rangel.
I think that this is a good move for Rangel and for the Democrats. At a time when there may be some shifting momentum, on multiple fronts, for the Democrats, Rangel battling his own party and the republicans on an ethics charge was one of the last things the Dems needed.
I expect this to become a permanent stepping down, myself, since I don't think Rangel is going to be exonerated enough for it to be justified for him to get back into the chairman's role.
I also have little tolerance for ethics violations, so in spite of whatever other good things he's done, I have to support him stepping down in general, and I do hope it's permanent.
Apologies if someone else mentioned this somewhere - didn't see a diary on it already :).