Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Arizona’s first Jewish congresswoman, will resign later this week to focus on her rehabilitation, the Tucson Democrat said Sunday.

Giffords’ announcement came just over a year after she was shot in the head in a Tucson supermarket parking lot, where she had been meeting with constituents. Jared Lee Loughner, a mentally ill 23-year-old, has been charged in the shooting, which killed six people and injured 14.

“I have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what’s best for Arizona, I will step down this week,” Giffords said in a video statement posted on her congressional website.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

In the two-minute video, she also thanks Americans for their well wishes, says she’s in good spirits as she continues to recover and that she “will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country.”

Giffords, a former state legislator who was elected to Congress in 2006, is the daughter of a Jewish father and a Christian Scientist mother. A 2001 trip to Israel strengthened her connection to her Jewish roots, she has said. Giffords is a member of Tucson’s Congregation Chaverim, and studied Torah alongside Rabbi Stephanie Aaron, the synagogue’s spiritual leader. In 2007, Aaron officiated at Giffords “traditional Jewish wedding” to astronaut Mark Kelly.

The congresswoman is undergoing intensive rehabilitation in Houston, where she has been living with Kelly.

Under Arizona law, Gov. Jan Brewer has 72 hours from the time of Giffords resignation to set a date for a special election. The winner will serve out the remainder of Giffords’ term, which ends in January 2013.

Giffords is expected this week in Washington, where she is to attend President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Watch Giffords’ announcement below:

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount