Florida Rep. Ted Deutch resigns from Congress to lead U.S. Jewish advocacy group

A congressman who has served Florida for a dozen years announced his resignation on Friday to lead one of the most venerable Jewish advocacy groups in the U.S.

Rep. Ted Deutch will serve as the chief executive officer of the American Jewish Committee, a 115-year-old group based out of New York City which writer Ari Goldman called "the dean of Jewish organizations in the United States."

In a farewell letter posted to his congressional homepage, Deutch called it "the honor of my life to serve the South Florida community and the American people in Congress."

"The policies you advocated for, the progress we made together, will forever live on through the impact on Americans’ everyday lives," he said. 

On his Twitter page, Deutch told constituents that he "tried to represent you with decency, dignity and empathy." 

"And we have done so much good together," he added.