Rangel Insists Ethics Tumult Will Pass

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (Ohio) unsuccessfully sought to have Rangel censured. He and other GOP leaders say the congressman should relinquish his chairmanship pending the ethics investigation.

"In a time of serious financial crisis, Charlie Rangel remains the chairman of the most powerful committee in Congress, despite his own admission that he is incapable of keeping his financial house in order," said Ken Spain, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

In Pennsylvania, Iowa and Florida, among other states, Republicans have attacked Democratic candidates for accepting contributions from Rangel's political action committee. Rangel has steered more than $836,000 to dozens of candidates in this election cycle.

Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) recently redirected a $5,000 donation from Rangel to local nonprofits. Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D), who is trying to unseat indicted Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), donated a $10,000 contribution from Rangel to the YMCA in light of the ethics concerns.

Norman J. Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said Rangel might get a scolding from the ethics panel but probably little else.

"Clearly, he has some explaining to do, and it's clearly an enormous embarrassment," Ornstein said. "But these are pretty trivial things unless there is something more."

Staff researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report.