Members of Congress Head for the exits, many citing dysfunction
WASHINGTON — Eleven are running for the Senate. Five for state or local office. One for president of the United States. Another is resigning to become a university president. And more and more say they are hanging up their hats in public office altogether.
More than three dozen members of Congress have announced they will not seek reelection next year, some to pursue other offices and many others simply to get out of Washington. Twelve have announced their plans just this month.
The wave of lawmakers across chambers and parties announcing they intend to leave Congress comes at a time of dysfunction on Capitol Hill, primarily instigated by House Republicans.
The chaos has Republicans increasingly worried that they could lose their slim House majority next year, a concern that typically prompts a rash of retirements from the party in control. But it is not only GOP lawmakers who are opting to leave; Democrats, too, are rushing for the exits, with retirements across parties this year outpacing those of the past three election cycles.
“I like the work, but the politics just no longer made it worth it,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said in an interview. He announced his retirement last month after more than a quarter-century in the House.
Some House Republicans have reached the limits of their frustration with their own party.
Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., announced he would not seek reelection after his dissatisfaction and sense of disconnect with the GOP had grown too great. Buck, who voted to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California from the speakership, has denounced his party’s election denialism and many members’ refusal to condemn the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The trend extends even to the most influential members of Congress; Rep. Kay Granger, the 80-year-old Texas Republican who chairs the powerful Appropriations Committee, announced she would retire at the end of her 14th term.
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