Boehner won’t say whether he backs Grimm’s reelection

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday said Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) “made the right decision” in stepping down from his committee assignment after being indicted on Monday, but he would not endorse the Republican’s reelection bid.

{mosads}“I think all members should be held to the highest ethical standards,” Boehner said at a press conference. “Mr. Grimm is under indictment. He resigned from his committee assignment, and I think he made the right decision.”

Grimm was indicted by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn on 20 counts of fraud and perjury charges stemming from his involvement in a restaurant business before his congressional career began in 2011. He has asserted his innocence and plans to continue seeking reelection, but he gave up his seat on the Financial Services Committee while the court process plays out.

Boehner stopped short of calling on Grimm to resign, but he did not answer directly when asked if he supported his bid for a third term in the House.

Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Monday night told The Hill that he believed Grimm’s decision to step down from his committee was “appropriate” and did not call on him to resign from Congress.