GAINESVILLE, Ga., March 1 (UPI) -- A Republican member of Congress from Georgia who has been the subject of two congressional investigations said Monday he is resigning.
Rep. Nathan Deal -- one of seven people running for the Republican nomination for Georgia governor -- announced Monday he will leave Congress March 8 to "devote my full energies" to his campaign for the nomination, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Deal's resignation from Congress likely means the House ethics committee will drop its investigating into his involvement in a business with the state in which his company collected $1.5 million between 2004 and 2008, the newspaper said. The Journal-Constitution reported last year Deal and a business partner got the contract without competition.
Deal, who denied any wrongdoing in the matter, announced his decision to resign at a gathering in Gainesville, Ga., of about 100 supporters.
"This is not a time for untested leadership in the governor's office," he said. "The economic future of our state is in peril."
Deal is the second member of Georgia's 13-member congressional delegation to announce in recent days he is leaving Washington. Rep. John Linder, also a Republican, said Saturday he will not run for re-election this year.
