The wave of congressional retirements isn't over just yet.
CNBC reported last week that a record 53 lawmakers in the House and Senate are retiring — and lawmakers are growing frustrated as colleagues jump ship.
30 Republicans and 23 Democrats are retiring, stemming in part from the historic tendency for the party in power to lose seats during the midterm election.
Punch Bowl News noted that in the new year, they're keeping an eye on three Republicans who might add their names to the list of retiring lawmakers: Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Cory Mills (R-Fla.).
Stefanik just ended a long-shot race for governor and Mills is facing a mountain of ethics and legal scandals. Bacon and Stefanik have already indicated they plan on retiring at the end of the session, but it's possible they could step out early. It would cause a huge problem for Speaker Mike Johnson, who already has a very narrow majority in the House.
According to a report from The Hill, the numbers are reminiscent of 2018, "a dismal midterm year for the GOP."
Bacon confessed that he wants to "do something different," including living a healthier lifestyle and spending more time with his grandchildren. However, he acknowledged that the problems in Congress "also played a role," the report said.
“I just was ready for something new. I know my wife was. So, that’s the major reason. I think the more minor reasons are … I’ll say that the dysfunction isn’t attractive,” Bacon said.
“I think, two, it’s hard — you got to be a really master tactician to run against the left and at the same time disagree with the president on a lot of things. And I’ve done it. I’ve done it since 2020, and I don’t know, to me, I’m just, I just knew it was time for a change,” he added.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who is leaving before her term is up, agreed that the dysfunction was too much for her. When she announced her decision in a statement, she said, “No matter which way the political pendulum swings, Republican or Democrat, nothing ever gets better for the common American man or woman."
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), also announced his retirement after the state did a mid-decade redistricting.
“So long as the biggest fear of many Republicans is the danger of a mean Trump tweet, the House will remain broken,” he told The Hill.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) lamented, “I had tried to advance the issues that were of concern to me. … And I just thought that it’s now someone else’s turn to take up that mantle and hopefully carry out some of the values that I thought were important in terms of our domestic policy and our international policy."
However, she added, “I don’t disagree that Congress right now is at its weakest point, that it is becoming a tool of the administration and not in a good way at all.”
Boise State university political science Professor Charlie Hunt explained that many lawmakers remember the bloodbath in 2018.
“That’s definitely what we’re seeing from Republicans this year, in the same way that we saw from them in 2018: They see this blue wave coming, and instead, they are opting to sort of get out of the way of the wave,” he said.
“I suspect that this is not going to be the end of the big tidal wave of retirements that we’re seeing,” said former Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.).
Read the report here.
