Public officials call on Rep. Fortenberry to resign from Congress

OMAHA, Neb. (FOX 42 KPTM) — Several public officials, including Gov. Rickett's, are calling on Jeff Fortenberry to resign from his seat in Congress- but what will happen if he does?

“Now that he has been convicted, there will be a tremendous amount of pressure for him to resign,” said Dr. Gregory Petrow, associate professor of political science at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

If Fortenberry doesn't resign, congress will probably make it very difficult for him to hold on to his seat.

“It is up to the congress to decide what they want to do about that," Dr. Petrow said. "They can not allow him to vote, they can reduce or take away his pension. There are numerous things that can happen.”

Though he's been convicted, he is able to still vote and hold his seat in the mean while.

The only real significant change is that he is no longer allowed to sit on any committees.

If he does choose to resign between now and the first of August, a special election will be held to replace him.

“I have read that the party leaders (GOP) will be the ones who will select the nominees,” Dr. Petrow commented.

Fortenberry would still be able to rerun for Congress even after resigning, if he so chooses.

But that does not mean it will be an easy task, or even a smart one for that matter.

“Usually there’s a period of time where they kind of slink away into the shadows and lick their wounds, and they let time pass so people forget about what happened,” Dr. Petrow added.

Dr. Petrow says that Fortenberry will most likely pursue an appeal of the decision and take it from there.

We aren't entirely sure what will unfold in the upcoming months.

However, we do know this:

Fortenberry was convicted of three felonies, and his political future is in dire jeopardy- perhaps, even destroyed.