WASHINGTON, March 3 (Xinhua) — The chairman of U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, a powerful tax-writing body, announced on Wednesday that he will temporarily quit his post for the good of his Democratic colleagues.

Charles Rangel, a 20-term congressman from New York, said at a news conference on Wednesday morning that he has asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to grant him “a leave of absence until such time as the ethics committee completes its work.”

Rangel said he made the decision “to avoid my colleagues having to defend me during their elections.”

The 79-year-old politician has been under increasing calls for stepping down after the House ethics committee began investigating his alleged ethics violations last year.

The panel, composed of three Democrats and three Republicans, challenged his ethics in the alleged corporate-paid trips, along with possible flaws in his personal assets and fund-raising efforts.

After the panel released its findings last week on his Caribbean trips, some Democrats that used to take side with him started to withdraw their support, making it even harder for Rangel to hold his job.

Rangel’s stepping down dealt a blow to President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats, when they are caught in an impasse on the healthcare issue.

The position Rangel held is very powerful because all bills regarding taxation must go through his committee.