Rangel on House Floor: I'm Not Quitting

Charles Rangel has no plans to resign, wants a chance to address the ethics charges against him, and would rather be expelled than linger in limbo. In a rambling but impassioned half-hour speech on the House floor this afternoon, the New York Democrat said, "If I can't take my dignity back here, then fire your best shot at getting rid of me through expulsion," reports Politico.

"It may be stupid, it may be negligent, but it's not corrupt," Rangel said of his behavior. Hundreds of congresspeople, called back to Washington during the recess to vote on a state aid bill, filled the chamber and interrupted only once, the Hill reports. "I'm prepared to say, I apologize for any embarrassment that I have caused." Rangel also alluded to his age, the Atlantic notes, saying, "I'm 80 years old, I don't want to die before the hearing."
(More Charles Rangel stories.)