U.S. Rep. Trey Radel (R-FL), who was charged in November with buying cocaine, is resigning from Congress, Reuters reports. Radel, 37, elected in 2012 backed by the conservative Tea Prty movement, returned to Congress in January, six weeks after he pleaded guilty to cocaine possession and checked into a rehabilitation clinic. Radel was charged with buying 3.5 grams of cocaine in Washington, D.C., on October 29, in the presence of an undercover agent.
Radel had rebuffed calls for his resignation from the Republican Party of Florida and Gov. Rick Scott. The case against Radel stemmed from an investigation by FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents into cocaine trafficking in the Washington area. He was sentenced to one year of probation in November.