Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) appeared in the House chamber Wednesday to formally submit her resignation. Members addressed the Congresswoman’s accomplishments before she handed in her letter of resignation.
After representing Southern Arizona in the House for five years, Representative Giffords (D-AZ) says in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and her state's governor that she's leaving Congress in order to focus on her recovery from a critical gunshot wound to the head inflicted a year ago this month. Her resignation will be effective at the end of the day today.
The congresswoman’s resignation came after attending the President's State of the Union Speech, where the crowd gave her a bipartisan standing ovation.
Representative Giffords ends her letter with these words: “Every day I am working hard. I will recover and will return and we will work together again for Arizona and for all Americans.”