Craig skips Senate's first day back after uproar in sex sting
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By MATTHEW DALY
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Associated Press
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WASHINGTON -- Sen. Larry Craig was a no-show Tuesday as Congress reconvened after a summer break that ended with the three-term Republican deciding to resign after the disclosure of his guilty plea in a restroom sex sting. Craig, who has represented Idaho in Congress for 27 years, announced Saturday that he intends to resign from the Senate on Sept. 30. His spokesman, Dan Whiting, said Tuesday that Craig was expected to spend the week in Idaho as the Senate votes on spending bills for veterans and other programs. Whiting did not rule out Craig returning to Washington before the end of the month. Craig gave up his senior positions on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and the Appropriations veterans subcommittee last week, at the request of Senate Republican leaders. The Senate began debating the veterans spending bill Tuesday. Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, suggested Craig's GOP colleagues who pressured him last week to resign should re-examine the facts surrounding his arrest June 11. "The more people take a look at the situation, there may well be second thoughts," said Specter, a former prosecutor, on Tuesday.
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