House GOP faces sudden flood of retirements after holiday break
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer and Larry Bucshon. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images.
In an election cycle marked by an unusually high number of congressional retirements, House Republicans are facing a burst of new retirement announcements as they return from the holiday recess.
Why it matters: Members have complained that the chaos of last year and the overarching decline in legislative productivity makes Congress a less fruitful place to work, especially for less publicity-hungry lawmakers.
- Some have also lamented the increasingly partisan, aggressive and event violent nature of contemporary national political life.
Driving the news: Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) became the latest to announce his retirement, saying in a statement on Monday that "it became clear to me over the Christmas holiday ... that the time has come to bring my season in public service to a conclusion."
- That follows announcements from Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) and Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.). All three are senior members of their respective committees who have been in Congress more than a decade.
- Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) also announced that he's jumping into the race for retiring Sen. Mitt Romney's (R-Utah) seat after initially passing on a run.
- And Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) announced that his resignation to become president of Youngstown State University will take effect on Jan. 21, more than a month and a half earlier than expected.
Zoom in: All five of those members are considered institutionalists, but they represent safely Republican seats that may very well elevate more ideologically extreme members in their place.
- The concern among many of the members opting to remain in Congress is that these retirements could serve to exacerbate congressional gridlock and partisanship.
What we're hearing: One House Republican, speaking on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about internal conference dynamics, cited two factors that likely led to the sudden rush of retirements.
- A long recess reminding members of the comforts of home and family life, away from the often back-biting atmosphere of Washington, D.C.
- The desire to wait until close to their state's federal candidacy filing deadlines in order to "orchestrate succession" for their seat.
By the numbers: House Republicans and Democrats each have around a dozen members retiring or resigning by the end of the year.
- That includes very senior members such as Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas) and Democratic Steering and Policy Committee co-chair Dan Kildee (D-Mich.).
- Another dozen Democrats and four Republicans are running for higher office – mostly Senate seats.
What we're watching: The vast majority of states have deadlines between now and mid-July, meaning most members still have plenty of time to deliberate on their next steps.
- The House Republican who spoke to Axios predicted more retirement announcements are likely on the way.
Editor's note: This article has been corrected to note that Rep. Luetkemeyer represents Missouri, not Michigan.
