Harlem Democrat Charles Rangel now says he will step down as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, NBC News has learned.
He may make the move as early as tonight and Michigan Democratic Rep Sander Levin will temporarily take over the committee.
Some details still need to be ironed out, but sources said Rangel has been pushed to step down before the House voted on a bill to forcefully strip him of the coveted chairmanship.
Rangel has been under fire ever since an ethics committee released a report Thursday that found that he violated House rules by accepting two corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean.
Rangel countered Friday that the ethics report "exonerates" him because it says there is no evidence that he knew the trips were sponsored by corporations. The report said his staff knew who paid for the trips. Following the report, even Democrats began asking Rangel to step down.
“The citizens of his home state sent him here, that's their decision," said Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Mississippi), who lead the charge in asking Rangel to relinquish his post. "But members of the [Democratic Caucus] made him chairman of that committee, and he should step down until all this is resolved.”








