Politico: “Multiple top House Republicans during the past 24 hours pressured Murphy to resign once it became clear that the House Ethics Committee might have to investigate allegations tied to his reported mistreatment of staffers. Numerous GOP sources were aware of systemic problems in Murphy’s office, including high staff turnover, which had been the topic of gossip and speculation for years.”

“According to these aides, chief of staff Susan Mosychuk regularly engaged in brutal verbal abuse of lower-ranking aides, from calling aides ‘worthless’ and their work ‘garbage’ to asking derisively, ‘Do you or do you not have a fucking college degree?’”

Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) has resigned effective October 21, according to a statement from Speaker Paul Ryan.

Politico: “Republican sources familiar with Murphy’s thinking said the married father of one child initially believed he could weather a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story revealing he had sent a series of text messages to his girlfriend — a psychologist half his age — encouraging her to have an abortion. Murphy had been a strongly anti-abortion lawmaker during his 15 years in Congress.”

Cook Political Report: “This is very tough territory for Democrats. But it’s not impossible, and the combination of a pro-Democratic national climate and the fallout from Murphy’s ignominious personal behavior makes this special election potentially competitive.”

“A text message sent in January to Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) by a woman with whom he had an extra-marital relationship took him to task for an anti-abortion statement posted on Facebook from his office’s public account,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Wrote Shannon Edwards, with whom the congressman admitted last month to having an affair: “And you have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options.”

Responded Murphy: “I get what you say about my March for life messages. I’ve never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff don’t write any more. I will.”

Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) publicly admitted to having an extramarital affair with “a personal friend,” issuing a statement about the relationship after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette prevailed in a court motion to unseal a divorce action.

Said Murphy: “Last year I became involved in an affair with a personal friend. This is nobody’s fault but my own, and I offer no excuses. To the extent that there should be any blame in this matter, it falls solely upon me.”