Rep. Duncan Hunter will resign from Congress effective Jan. 13, more than one month after the California Republican pleaded guilty in federal court to misusing campaign funds.
Hunter submitted his letter of resignation to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) today.
The six-term congressman is scheduled to be sentenced in March.
He faces a maximum of five years in prison, although he is expected to serve less than one year.
Hunter and his wife, Margaret, were charged in August 2018 with using more than $250,000 in campaign funds to pay for personal expenses including family vacations, theater tickets and school tuition.
The lawmaker was stripped of his committee assignments but continued serving in Congress and won reelection in 2018 after initially pleading not guilty and denying wrongdoing.
His legal situation became more precarious, however, after his wife pleaded guilty last June to one count of conspiring with him to spend campaign funds for personal use.
As part of the deal, Margaret Hunter agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and testify against her husband.
Later that month, federal prosecutors alleged that the congressman had also used campaign money to fund trips, dinners and drinks with women with whom he was romantically involved — three lobbyists, a woman who worked in his congressional office and another who worked for a member of House leadership.
Days after his guilty plea last month, the California Republican announced that he would resign from Congress “shortly after the holidays.”
The move meant he would collect one last full government paycheck, as House members get paid on the last business day of each month.
The seat was previously held by Hunter’s father, Duncan L. Hunter.
Hunter was sworn into office on Jan. 3, 2009, and has garnered at least 11 years of service that counts toward the congressional portion of his pension, meaning he’ll still likely receive thousands of dollars in retirement benefits related to that service in addition to benefits from prior military service.
The amount of money in Hunter’s congressional pension is not publicly known, and the Congressional Research Service and the Office of Personnel Management both declined to provide The San Diego Union-Tribune with information regarding the the congressman’s benefits.
Based on formulas outlined in a paper released by the research service earlier this year, it is estimated that Hunter, 43, would receive an annual payment of at least $32,538 due to his congressional pension, which he can begin accessing when he turns 62.
Legal and policy experts interviewed by the Union-Tribune said Hunter will most likely keep his taxpayer funded pension even though he violated the public’s trust.
“Corrupt members of Congress deserve time in prison not taxpayer-funded federal pensions,” said Adam Andrzejewski, CEO of OpenTheBooks.com, a project of the open government group American Transparency. “However, the rules are so lax, no member has ever been stripped of their congressional pension.”
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has stated that no members of Congress have been stripped of their retirement benefits due to a conviction.