McAllister chief of staff: He won’t resign

Rep. Vance McAllister (R-La.) has no plans to return to Congress until the upcoming two-week recess concludes — and will not resign from Congress, despite growing calls for him to do so, his chief of staff told The Hill on Wednesday.

Adam Terry confirmed to The Hill that the chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party had in fact called to ask for McAllister’s resignation, after a video went public earlier this week showing the married Republican congressman kissing a female staffer.

{mosads}“I had a brief conversation with [Chairman Roger Villere] last night. I can confirm he asked for Vance’s resignation,” the congressman’s chief of staff said. 

However, McAllister, he said, has no plans to tender that resignation.

“Not to my knowledge,” Terry said when asked if anything could change his decision in the coming weeks. “He’s got a job to do, one he was elected to do, and he plans to continue to do that.”

McAllister’s more immediate plans involve “taking some time to be with his wife” back at home, as he has over the past two days, causing him to miss House votes all week. 

But Terry said, while McAllister has no plans to resign, he hasn’t decided whether he’ll run for reelection this fall.

“We’re not even focused on reelection right now,” Terry said. “Family is his No. 1 priority.”

The video, Louisiana political observers say, has damaged his reelection prospects, and by Wednesday, some of McAllister’s former opponents were beginning to float potential rematches against the candidate.