Another GOP Congressman Abruptly Announces Retirement

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New York Republican Congressman Tom Reed has announced his retirement following a revelation of his past sexual misconduct from a woman named Nicolette Davis, who currently serves in the Army and was a junior lobbyist for Aflac at the time of the 2017 incident in question. Reed, who was drunk at the time, was rubbing Davis’s back and, with his hand outside of her clothes, unhooked her bra at one point. Someone from the group subsequently escorted Reed out of the restaurant after Davis asked for assistance.

After initially insisting that Davis’s account was “not accurate,” Reed subsequently stated that he is sorry for what occurred and takes “full responsibility” for the incident. He tied his decision to retire from Congress to a pledge he made around the time of his first election to only serve six terms, but he also said that he would not be running for any elected office in 2022, meaning that he’s set aside an idea that he had of challenging New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Reed tied his past behavior to alcoholism, which he says that he’s been receiving treatment for since the same year that the incident involving Davis unfolded. As he put it:

‘I hear her voice and will not dismiss her. In reflection, my personal depiction of this event is irrelevant. Simply put, my behavior caused her pain, showed her disrespect and was unprofessional. I was wrong, I am sorry, and I take full responsibility… [This] occurred at a time in my life in which I was struggling. Upon entering treatment in 2017, I recognized that I am powerless over alcohol. I am now approaching four years of that personal lifelong journey of recovery. This is in no way an excuse for anything I’ve done. Consistent with my recovery, I publicly take ownership of my past actions, offer this amends and humbly apologize again to Ms. Davis, my wife and kids, loved ones, and to all of you.’

Reed currently serves as a co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus in Congress, which is a bipartisan group of lawmakers dedicated to finding bipartisan solutions. Unlike some other House Republicans, Reed voted in favor of certifying the 2020 presidential election results — meaning Joe Biden’s victory — when Congress met to consider the matter this past January, but he opposed subsequent impeachment proceedings against Trump on a charge of incitement of insurrection after Trump supporters swarmed the Capitol in fury over Biden’s victory.