After Talk With Boehner, NY Rep Steps Down

Rep. Michael Grimm told reporters he wouldn't resign after he pleaded guilty to tax evasion last week, but John Boehner appears to have used his powers of persuasion on New York City's only Republican representative in Congress. Grimm announced his resignation in a statement last night that sources tell the New York Times was issued after a conversation with the House speaker. Gov. Andrew Cuomo will now have to call a special election for the 11th District, which includes all of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn. District Attorney Daniel Donovan is considered an early favorite to replace Grimm, despite the criticism he has faced over the decision not to issue an indictment in the Eric Garner case, reports the New York Daily News.

"The events which led to this day did not break my spirit, nor the will of the voters," Grimm said in the statement announcing his resignation effective Jan. 5. "However, I do not believe that I can continue to be 100% effective in the next Congress, and therefore, out of respect for the office and the people I so proudly represent, it is time for me to start the next chapter of my life." That next chapter is likely to include prison time: He will be sentenced June 8 and prosecutors are seeking between 24 and 30 months in prison, the AP reports. Before his legal woes, Grimm was best known for threatening to throw a reporter off a balcony. (More Michael Grimm stories.)