 November 14, 2007
Posted: 09:35 PM ET
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert is expected to announce Thursday on the House floor that he is retiring from Congress, a senior aide to the congressman told CNN Wednesday. The aide said that Hastert will announce his plans to retire tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. in an address on the House floor. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office provided the floor time to the former speaker to address his colleagues. "His plan is to make his farewell address tomorrow on the House floor," the aide said. "He is then going to decide at some point this year when he will step down." The aide said the effective date of Hastert's resignation not yet been determined.
Asked if the decision has anything to do with health problems Hastert has had in the past, the aide said no. "He's in excellent health," the aide said. "He's in better health than he was as speaker." CNN reported last month that Hastert would resign his seat rather than serve out the rest of his term. Asked about a former aide's comment that "wealth not health" was Hastert's reason for retiring, this aide said he could not comment about Hastert's plans beyond his decision to step down and did not think Hastert had made any specific plans on what he would do next. As for the timing for Thursday's speech, the aide said, "I think he thinks it's the right time. It's right before a congressional recess when he has a chance to talk to members." Hastert, 65, is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history, holding the post from January 1999 to November 2006. He stepped down as the top House Republican leader last November after Democrats won a majority in the midterm elections, ending 12 years of GOP control. When he was elected speaker in 1999, Hastert, a former high school wrestling coach, was an unlikely candidate. Though he had been in the House 12 years, he had virtually no national profile and did not hold a top leadership position. However, Hastert managed to build a reputation as a formidable leader and by 2003 his Republican colleagues waived term limits to allow him to continue as their speaker. – CNN's Dana Bash and Deirdre Walsh Filed under: Dennis Hastert
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