BOISE - Senator Larry Craig is stepping down from top committee assignments – under pressure from GOP leadership.

The removal is said to be temporary while an ethics investigation proceeds – and includes his leadership roles with the Veteran’s Affairs Committee, Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, and the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. He will remain a voting memeber of the committees.

The announcement came in a statement from Republican leaders Senators Mitch McConnell, Trent Lott, Jon Kyl, Kay Bailey Hutchison, John Ensign. 

"Senator Larry Craig has agreed to comply with Leadership’s request that he temporarily step down as the top Republican on the Veteran Affairs Committee, Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, and Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. This is not a decision we take lightly but we believe this is in the best interest of the Senate until this situation is resolved by the Ethics Committee," they said in a prepared statement.

Craig's spokesperson told NewsChannel 7 that Craig "understands what the Republican leadership os doing, and he is willing to comply."

Whiting says Craig is shocked at the leadership's actions - and calls it "premature."

McCain and Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, the state where Craig was arrested, became the first senators to join Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., urging Craig's resignation.

McCain told CNN the decision was Craig's to make, "but my opinion is that when you plead guilty to a crime, you shouldn't serve. That's not a moral stand. That's not a holier-than-thou. It's just a factual situation."

Wednesday afternoon, GOP pressure on Craig continued to increase.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said he hoped an ethics panel looking in to Craig's actions could do its work quickly.

"That would be in the best interests of the Senate and the people of Idaho," he said.

Stanzel says the White House was disappointed in the Senator. Stanzel made no expression of support for Craig - neither did Senate GOP leaders on Tuesday.