Report: Rangel to quit Ways and Means post

WASHINGTON, March 2 (UPI) -- Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., under fire for an ethics violation, has agreed to resign as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, sources told NBC News.

The report said Democratic congressional leaders urged Rangel to step aside, saying he did not have enough support to survive a Republican move to unseat him. However, Rangel told NBC News late Tuesday he expects he will still be chairman of the committee Wednesday.

"You bet your life on it," he said.

After the House ethics committee announced Friday that Rangel violated gift rules by accepting paid travel to the Caribbean, Rangel said he did not plan to quit the chairmanship.

While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., backed Rangel, Democrats began calling for his resignation. Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Artur Davis, a candidate for Alabama governor, became the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus and of the Ways and Means Committee, to turn against Rangel, Politico reported.

"We don't have the votes to save him," one Democrat told NBC.

Republicans need at least 39 Democratic votes to oust Rangel -- who has represented New York City in Congress since 1971 -- from the chairmanship.