Hastert to Resign Sometime

Via Rich:

He’s hanging around for a bit

From NBC’s Mike Viqueira
The halls of the Capitol are rife with reports of former Speaker Denny Hastert leaving Congress before the end of his term. These reports are only kind of true.

I just spoke with Hastert, who calls the reports a “rumor,” and that he has a lot of work still to do for Illinois on transportation, health care, energy, etc. Asked directly if he has plans to resign, he said: “Not at this time.” Some reports today had him announcing his plans as early as today. That definitely is not going to happen.

A GOP leadership source says that now the plan is for him to wait until the end of this year or early next to announce his departure. One consideration: the Illinois primary is February 5. If he announces too soon, then the special to replace him would be held that same day, with the state’s favorite son — Barack Obama — at the top of the ticket, which would work against the Republican candidate to replace Hastert down the ballot.

The source says that Hastert is “definitely going to resign,” but that it won’t happen be announced officially for a couple of months or so.

Incidentally, Hastert has lost about 60 pounds and looks like a completely different person.