When Rep. Charles Rangel (D., N.Y.) announced he would step aside as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, he said his absence would last only until House investigators completed a spate of ethics inquiries into his behavior.

In reality, the move is much more likely to be permanent, and it could augur the beginning of the end of Mr. Rangel's storied political career.

As a matter of House procedure, it would be difficult for Mr. Rangel to win the support of his colleagues to return to the chairmanship, even if he is cleared by the House ethics committee on all remaining matters.

Congressional ethics investigators continue to review whether he failed to disclose properly about $500,000 in assets on his annual financial-disclosure forms. They are also reviewing whether Mr. Rangel hid rental income from a vacation property and used official House stationery to solicit donations from companies for an educational institution that bears his name.

Last week, the ethics panel found that Mr. Rangel improperly accepted trips to the Caribbean from corporations.

Mr. Rangel's political standing could erode further as the ethics investigations continue. Back home in New York, one of his former aides is mounting a campaign to defeat him in a Democratic primary. Mr. Rangel hasn't faced serious opposition since 1994, and even then he won by a two-to-one margin.