This story will be updated.

The D.C. Council voted Tuesday to strip Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans of some of his responsibilities as chair of the Council’s powerful finance committee, which sets tax policy for the city. That includes approving tax breaks for businesses and property owners and signing off on the use of public funds for development deals.

The move, which requires a second vote in early April, follows revelations that Evans, the Council’s longest serving member, used his government email to seek business for his private consulting firm, including from prominent law firms that often lobby for tax breaks or other measures for their clients. That practice was first reported earlier this month by the Washington Post.

“The Council is acting swiftly and clearly to condemn the conduct of any member who uses government resources for personal business and who knowingly advertises the prestige of his office for private gain,” said Chairman Phil Mendelson, who took the lead on sanctioning Evans. “In an abundance of caution, I have re-referred targeted tax abatements out of his committee and will not refer any more such bills to his committee so long as the investigations continue.”

Evans will also lose oversight over Events DC, the city’s sports and entertainment authority, as well as the Commission on Arts and Humanities. Any bill dealing with a tax abatement of tax-increment financing will be steered to other Council committees.

The action sidesteps a broader request from some lawmakers and activists that he be fully removed from the committee, but is more severe than the simple reprimand Evans was initially set to face from the Council. Some of his colleagues, along with a growing universe of political groups in the city, worried that a reprimand alone would not be enough of a consequence for his use of his public office for private gain.

But Mendelson — who called his proposal a “reprimand with consequences” — said that he did want to remove Evans from the committee entirely, saying that doing so “based only on allegations will set a precedent that we will not only regret someday but that disregards due process.” In 2013, the Council similarly decided to strip the late Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham of some of his committee responsibilities over allegations of improprieties around a Metro contract, but it did not remove him from the committee’s chairmanship.

Speaking during a brief session on Tuesday morning, Evans called the punishment “severe” and apologized to his colleagues.

“This is a very difficult time for this Council and for myself. I have brought embarrassment to this Council, to myself and my family. That’s the most painful part of all of this,” he said, his voice cracking. “I ask my colleagues for their forbearance, to work with me as we move forward. I will pledge to all of you that I will work to regain your trust and to represent my constituents to the best of my abilities.”

Despite the move, there is still movement for a further investigation within the Council of Evans’s conduct—and Mendelson did not swear off the possibility of further sanctions as more is revealed about what Evans did.

“This is an appropriate punishment for where we are, but that there needs to be further investigation,” said At-large Councilmember David Grosso (I-At Large), who was joined by Elissa Silverman, also a councilmember at-large.

The Council’s action comes as Evans,  a powerful ally of business interests in the city, faces a more serious federal investigation into separate allegations first reported by District Dig that he pushed legislation on behalf of a digital sign company that paid his consulting firm, offered him stock and floated a possible internship for his son.

Beyond his pending legal issues, Evans faces growing political challenges going into 2020, when he will face a re-election campaign for the Ward 2 seat he has held since 1991. There’s a nascent effort to recall him from office, he’s facing defections from organizations that have otherwise supported him over the years, and members of the city’s Democratic Party have asked him to step down from his position as a national committeeman.