GOP leaders want disgraced congressman to step down

House Democrats, including Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., are distancing themselves from the scandal surrounding Rep. Anthony Weiner. Walz has donated contributions he’s received from Weiner to charity.

The Republican Party chairman said Tuesday that Weiner should resign after admitting to sexually charged online relationships with several women and lying about his misdeeds.

The New York congressman seemed increasingly isolated from even his fellow Democrats Tuesday, as House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi formally requested a House ethics probe and the Senate’s top Democrat declined to publicly defend him.

Reince Priebus said in a statement that either Pelosi and Democratic chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz believe members of Congress are held to a different standard, or they believe the congressman’s actions demand his departure from the House.

The Democratic National Committee did not have an immediate comment.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid delivered a rebuff to Weiner, a clear sign of the frustrations fellow Democrats have with a scandal they want to see over as soon as possible.

“I know Congressman Weiner,” Reid told reporters. “I wish there was some way I could defend him, but I can’t.”

Asked what he would say if Weiner called him for advice, Reid said “call somebody else.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee also seized on the Weiner scandal as a 2012 campaign issue, issuing press releases calling on more than a dozen House Democrats to return campaign contributions from Weiner.

Walz received $3,000 from Weiner during the last election. Walz donated $3,000 to a local chapter of the Disabled American Veterans according to a statement made through campaign staff.

—The Austin Daily Herald contributed to this report.