House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) called on Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) to resign on Friday, following the congressman’s three felony convictions related to a campaign contributions case.

Fortenberry was found guilty on Thursday of “concealing information and making false statements to federal authorities” related to illegal campaign donations he received in 2016, reported CNN.

“After learning of illegal contributions to his campaign, the congressman repeatedly chose to conceal the violations of federal law to protect his job, his reputation and his close associates,” U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison said in a statement after the verdict. “The lies in this case threatened the integrity of the American electoral system and were designed to prevent investigators from learning the true source of campaign funds.”

On Friday, McCarthy told CNN’s Melanie Zanona, “When someone’s convicted it’s time to resign.”

.@GOPLeader says Rep. Jeff Fortenberry should resign after he was convicted of felonies, & says he plans to speak with the Nebraska Republican today: “When someone’s convicted it’s time to resign.”

He adds that if Fortenberry wants to appeal, can do it that as a private citizen.

— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) March 25, 2022

Zanona reported that McCarthy added if Fortenberry wanted to appeal, he could do that “as a private citizen.”

McCarthy’s call for a member of his conference to resign is a rare rebuke from the Republican leader who has stood by some of his most controversial members.

Fortenberry has represented Nebraskas’s 1st Congressional district since 2005 and won reelection in 2020 with nearly 60 percent of the vote. While the district is 65 percent urban and includes the state capitol of Lincoln, the Cook Partisan Voting Index ranks the district as a safe +11 Republican-leaning seat.

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