Report: Craig will quit U.S. Senate

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, has scheduled a news conference to talk about his future, and CNN and NBC News reported Craig will announce his resignation.

Craig is expected to announce at a news conference in Boise, Idaho, Saturday that he is resigning from the Senate effective Sept. 30.

The conservative Republican has been under intense pressure from fellow Republicans to resign, ever since news broke this week that he had pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after his June arrest in a men’s room at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

GOP leaders are aggressively trying to contain the political damage caused by Craig’s guilty plea and details surrounding his arrest. Craig had said at a news conference this week he intended to announce next month whether he would resign from the Senate or run in 2008 for a fourth term.

Republican sources told The Washington Post that Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter would probably appoint Lt. Gov. Jim Risch to serve the remainder of Craig's term in the Senate.

Craig has apologized for his arrest and his guilty plea, and denied he engages in "inappropriate conduct.”