HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A five-term Republican congressman who co-chaired Donald Trump's successful presidential campaign in Pennsylvania is resigning.
Tom Marino said in a statement Thursday that his last day will be Jan. 23 and that he's taking a job in the private sector.
The 66-year-old Marino is a former county and federal prosecutor who co-chaired Donald Trump's successful presidential campaign in Pennsylvania.
He easily won re-election in November to his heavily Republican district in northern Pennsylvania.
Trump nominated Marino in 2017 to become the nation's drug czar, but Marino withdrew his name after reports he played a key role in weakening federal power to stop companies from distributing opioids.
Marino's survived multiple bouts of kidney cancer.
Gov. Tom Wolf must schedule a special election to fill the remainder of Marino's term.
Marino's resignation is likely to set off a furious scramble to secure votes among the committee members of the state Republican Party who will select a nominee to run in the special election.
The sprawling district covers all or parts of 15 counties. Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats there by nearly 100,000.
