The longest serving member of Congress, John Conyers, has announced his retirement, amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

Conyers, in a radio interview Tuesday, endorsed his son to replace him in the House of Representatives.

Several women have come forward recently, accusing the 88-year-old congressman of harassment. Among them is former aide Marion Brown, who said her former boss propositioned her for sex multiple times over more than a decade. Brown, 61, told NBC’s Today Show that she was fired for rejecting her boss’s sexual advances.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and the speaker of the chamber, Republican Paul Ryan, had called on Conyers to step down.

Conyers acknowledged he had reached a $27,000 settlement with one woman, but denied her allegation of an unwanted advance.

The House Ethics Committee had launched an investigation into whether Conyers used taxpayer money in his office funds to settle the case, and whether he engaged in the sexual harassment of other women.

Congress has introduced legislation that, if passed, would end the two-decade-old practice of paying settlements with taxpayer money. The Congressional Accountability and Hush Fund Elimination Act would require transparent disclosure of the nature of claims settled in the Office of Congressional Compliance.
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