Hastert To Make Retirement Announcement On Thursday

(The Politico)  Former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) will announce on Thursday that he is retiring from Congress soon, although the exact date of his departure is still unclear, according to House insiders.

Hastert is expected to tell the House Republican Conference of his decision on Thursday afternoon, and then make his final floor speech sometime after that.

GOP sources said Hastert is expected to formally leave the House sometime in December, although the actual date could not be confirmed at press time.

Hastert has been rumored to be retiring for months, and he has a history of health problems, including diabetes, although his decision to step down is not based on health-related issues, said the GOP sources.

Hastert, the longest serving Republican speaker in House history, ran the House from 1998 until last November, when Republicans lost their majority.

The 65-year-old Hastert was first elected to the House in 1986, and he served as a top lieutenant to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) before being vaulted to the speaker's chair in Dec. 1998 following the resignation of former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and the political implosion of Rep. Bob Livingston's (R-La.) political career over infidelity allegations.

Update - CNN is also reporting that Hastert will make his resignation announcement on Thursday. According to CNN, "Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office provided the floor time to the former speaker to address his colleagues."