Jefferson Parish Republican Abruptly Resigns from La. House

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana lawmaker from Jefferson Parish has abruptly resigned from his elected position only a year after taking office.

The House of Representatives clerk’s office confirmed Tuesday that Republican Rep. Charles Henry submitted his resignation to the House speaker Monday, effective immediately. Henry was elected to the seat in 2019. Previously, he had been chief of staff for Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise. Henry released a statement citing his son's birth and the pandemic. He says: “Like so many Americans, I’ve had to shift priorities.”

He says he's been thinking about resigning for months and decided to do it now so an election can be held before the legislative session.