Weiner launches exploratory committee for NYC City Council run

Former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) launched an exploratory committee to potentially run for New York City Council, 13 years after resigning from Congress amid a sexting scandal. 

Weiner, 60, registered his political action committee (PAC), "Weiner 25," last Friday and filed to run for a city council 2nd District seat on Tuesday with the New York City Campaign Finance Board. 

The former House lawmaker, who served seven terms in the lower chamber, told The Hill that the Tuesday filing is an “exploratory committee” and that he will be “posting my latest idea book sometime in the coming days, ‘25 ideas for '25’ and “see how it goes.” 

He said he had to set up the exploratory committee to participate at the Downtown Independent Democrats forum on Thursday. 

Weiner previously hinted at making a city council run, saying on his weekly radio show on 77WABC in early November, "I'm thinking about it. I'm wrestling with it. I love doing this job on the radio, but I want to be of service."

The term-limited Carlina Rivera currently holds the 2nd District spot. 

In mid-June this year, he expressed doubt about running for office again but said that politicians can still gain the trust of the American public despite being embroiled in scandals. 

“I think fundamentally still Americans are forgiving people,” he said on NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live.” 

Weiner resigned from the House in 2011 after he admitted that he was sending lewd photos to several women. Two years later, he was unsuccessful in his New York City mayoral run. 

He started his 21-month sentence after pleading guilty to sending sexually explicit material to a minor in November 2017. In February 2019, Weiner was released from federal prison.