The unexpected announcement came after Donaldson opted to have the party return to power-sharing in Northern Ireland with the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, following a two-year boycott of the political institutions following controversy over Brexit trading arrangements.

Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson speaks to the media on May 9, 2022, in Stormont, Belfast. Donaldson has stepped down after being charged with allegations of a historic nature, the party said in a statement on March 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)

The DUP agreed to return to the center of power in Stormont following a series of assurances around Northern Ireland’s constitutional position within the United Kingdom.

Donaldson has been a member of Parliament since 1997 and was initially a member of the smaller Ulster Unionist Party. He joined the DUP in 2004.