Alabama Republican to Retire From House

Representative Jo Bonner, Republican of Alabama, will resign from Congress this fall to take a job at the University of Alabama.

Mr. Bonner, 53, has represented Alabama’s First Congressional District since 2003. He said in a statement that he was resigning effective Aug. 15 to become vice chancellor of government relations and economic development at the University of Alabama system, a newly created position.

His retirement means Gov. Robert Bentley, a Republican, must set a special election for the seat. The district covers Mobile and Baldwin Counties and is considered solid Republican terrain. The district voted for Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election, and Mr. Bonner faced no Democratic opponent in the general election.

Addressing his constituents in a statement on Thursday, he said, “I trust you know that serving as your congressman this past decade has truly been one of the highest honors of my life.”

Mr. Bonner is an alumnus of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, where his older sister, Judy L. Bonner, is president. He will move to Tuscaloosa for the job.

Mr. Bonner stepped down as chairman of the House Ethics Committee in 2012 after six years on the panel. His feuds with Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California, when she was chairwoman of the panel in 2010 are well known. The two clashed when Ms. Lofgren scheduled the censure trial for Representative Charles B. Rangel, Democrat of New York, for after the November elections, and again when Mr. Bonner blocked her attempts to fire two investigators involved in the case of Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California.

He remains a member of the Appropriations Committee, where he earned a reputation for securing federal earmarks for his district and for directing federal resources to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Noting the challenges facing the country during his time in office â€" the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina, the 2010 BP oil spill and the recession â€" Mr. Bonner highlighted his achievements bringing shipbuilding and aerospace jobs to the region through ThyssenKrupp, Austal and Airbus.