"Totally Not Gay" Rep. Aaron Schock Announces Resignation From Congress

Congressman Aaron Schock (L) in his "Downton Abbey" inspired offices

Politico is reporting that Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) will resign from Congress amid a controversy over his spending habits:

Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock resigned Tuesday, less than 12 hours after POLITICO raised questions about tens of thousands of dollars in mileage reimbursements he received for his personal vehicle.

Schock billed the federal government and his campaign for logging roughly 170,000 miles on his personal car between January 2010 and July 2014. But when he sold that Chevrolet Tahoe in July 2014, it had only roughly 80,000 miles on the odometer, according to public records obtained by POLITICO under Illinois open records laws. The documents, in other words, indicate he was reimbursed for 90,000 miles more than his car was ever driven.

"I do this with a heavy heart," reads the statement. "Serving the people of the 18th District is the highest and greatest honor I have had in my life. I thank them for their faith in electing me and letting me represent their interests in Washington. I have given them my all over the last six years. I have traveled to all corners of the District to meet with the people I’ve been fortunate to be able to call my friends and neighbors."

The congressman said he will resign effective March 31.

Schock was facing a review of his spending by the Office of Congressional Ethics after a series of damaging reports that began with a $40,000 tab on decorating his Capitol Hill office in the manner of the PBS show "Downton Abbey." That was to be only the beginning, however, as investigations into personal finances and travel expenditures seemed to show other improper spending habits.

UPDATE: CNN's Dana Bash tweets that Schock has apparently begun paying back some of the monies he may have been inappropriately reimbursed:

An @aaronschock source tells me he has "reimbursed all monies received for official mileage since his election to Congress."
— Dana Bash (@DanaBashCNN) March 17, 2015

Who knows what's next for Schock? We know he likes to travel...

Totally not gay...