New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced on Tuesday night that he will resign from his speaker position.

Silver's decision to step down from his 21-year reign as the Assembly Speaker comes just days after he was arrested by federal authorities on charges of corruption and bribery. Federal prosecutors accuse him of abusing his political office by accepting bribes and kickbacks worth millions of dollars.

"I will not impede the process. ... I believe very deeply in the institution. I hope there will be somebody here to carry on the good work that has been done," Silver said, according to the New York Post.

Silver added that he will continue to serve his district on the Lower East Side in Manhattan as an assemblyman while he fights the corruption charges.

"I will be a member of this house. I was elected by my constituents. I do not intend to resign my seat in this house," said Silver, who was first elected to the Assembly in 1976.

Although it is not clear when Silver will formally step down, Assembly Democrats agreed Tuesday night to appoint Majority Leader Joseph Morelle of Rochester as an interim leader until Feb. 10. However, some state legislators argued that appointing Morelle would give him an unfair advantage over his chief rival, Assemblyman Carl E. Heastie of the Bronx, reports the New York Times.

In addition to Morelle and Heastie, other contenders campaigning for the speakership include Cathy Nolan of Queens, Joe Lentol of Brooklyn and Keith Wright of Manhattan.

A federal corruption probe launched against Silver in 2013 found that for the last decade he underhandedly accepted about $4 million in payments from a small law firm called Goldberg & Iryami. FBI agents and prosecutors with U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's office also said that the Manhattan Democrat did essentially no work for the payments, nor did he officially disclose the payments.

Silver's lawyers, however, released a statement calling the accusations "meritless."

"We're disappointed that the prosecutors have chosen to proceed with these meritless criminal charges. That said, Mr. Silver looks forward to responding to them -- in court -- and ultimately his full exoneration," said Joel Cohen and Steven Molo, reports the NYT.

Related