Editing Mike Simpson (section)

====Larry Craig scandal====
On June 11, 2007, U.S. senator [[Larry Craig]] was [[Larry Craig scandal|arrested for indecent behavior]] in a [[Public toilet|men's restroom]] at [[Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport]]; he pleaded guilty to a charge of [[disorderly conduct]] in August 2007 and paid $575 in court fines and fees. Simpson was openly considered for an appointment to the Senate if Craig resigned. But Simpson asked Governor [[Butch Otter]] to remove his name from consideration, claiming that the Idaho congressional delegation would be in a better position if he were to remain in the House and retain his seniority on the House [[United States House Committee on Appropriations|Appropriations Committee]].

Simpson criticized Senate leadership treatment of Craig. He said: "If that's how they treat their own, that tells me they're more interested in party than individuals, and the party is made up of individuals. How you treat them says a lot about your party." Simpson demanded that Craig be treated fairly, saying "They have people over there [in the Senate Republican Conference] in far worse trouble that they haven't said a thing about."<ref name="thehill2007">{{cite web |title=News Archive |url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lashing-out-at-mcconnell-2007-09-07.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090101174848/http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lashing-out-at-mcconnell-2007-09-07.html |archive-date=2009-01-01 |access-date=2010-08-23 |publisher=TheHill.com}}</ref> [[File:Michael Simpson 113th Congress.jpg|thumb|right|Simpson during the [[113th United States Congress|113th Congress]]]]