Less than a week after the FBI raided the Northern Virginia home of his wife, Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Calif.) gave up his coveted seat on the House Appropriations Committee today amid concerns that he had used that post to advance the interest of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and other allies.

“I understand how the most recent circumstances may lead some to question my tenure on the Appropriations Committee,” the nine-term conservative wrote in a letter to House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio). “Therefore, I feel it may be in the best interest of the House that I take a temporary leave with seniority from this Committee until this matter can be resolved.”

Boehner accepted the decision, saying it “is in the best interest of the House and the American people.”

“John recognizes that if we are to succeed in restoring trust between the American people and their elected leaders, this action is necessary,” Boehner said in a statement released by Doolittle.

Doolittle’s wife, Julie, operates Sierra Dominion Financial Services Inc. out of the couple’s home in Oakton. Since 2005, a Justice Department task force has been looking into payments made by Abramoff and other lobbyists to Doolittle’s wife and the spouses of other lawmakers.

Julie Doolittle has denied wrongdoing.

Friday’s raid of the couple’s house came on the same day Doolittle’s former legislative director, Kevin Ring, abruptly resigned as a lobbyist for Barnes & Thornburg. Ring had been an intermediary in Abramoff’s hiring of Julie Doolittle’s firm as a fundraiser for a charity the lobbyist had founded.

Full story at The Washington Post