Embattled New York Rep. Anthony Weiner is resigning from Congress, saying he cannot continue in office amid the intense controversy surrounding sexually explicit messages he sent online to several women.

The 46-year-old Democrat made the announcement in his home district in New York after two weeks of fighting off pressure to step aside. Weiner apologized again for "the embarrassment that I have caused" and said he hoped to continue to fight for the causes dear to his constituents.

His wife, Huma Abedin, was not with him for the announcement.

He's been on leave from the House and hasn't been seen in public since the weekend, after admitting last week that he'd sent lewd photos to several women online, and engaged inappropriate messages with them -- and that he had lied about it.

An official says Weiner telephoned top House Democrats yesterday evening to let them know he'd be resigning. He had been encouraged to do so by several party leaders.

Once he submits his resignation, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has the authority to call a special election to fill the seat.

Weiner's political problems began last month when a website run by a conservative commentator posted a lewd photo and said it had been sent from Weiner's Twitter account to a Seattle woman.

Initially, Weiner lied, saying his account had been hacked. But he didn't report the incident to law enforcement. And he told an interviewer that he couldn't say `with certitude" that he wasn't the man in the photo.