Another GOP rep announces retirement while Mike Johnson reels from legislative losses

One of the most powerful House Republicans announced on Thursday that she would not seek another term in 2024, adding to the wave of retirements that has plagued House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) since he took the gavel late last year.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington), who was first elected in 2004, made the announcement on X (formerly Twitter), saying that she came to the decision to leave public office "after much prayer and reflection."

"It's been the honor and privilege of my life to represent the people of Eastern Washington in Congress," McMorris Rodgers stated. "I've decided the time has come to serve them in new ways. I will not be running for reelection to the People's House."

READ MORE: Yet another House Republican announces retirement as Johnson fights to keep majority

McMorris Rodgers chairs the powerful and influential House Energy and Commerce Committee, and according to Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman, she was also chair of the House Republican Conference for six years before former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) was elected to the position in 2019. Her resignation makes her the most powerful Republican to resign from Congress since former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) left the House of Representatives in late 2023 following his October ouster.

As Punchbowl reporter Max Cohen noted, McMorris Rodgers' retirement makes her the seventh Republican from the Energy and Commerce Committee to not seek reelection this year. Other members of the committee leaving office include Reps. Kelly Armstrong (R-North Dakota), Larry Bucshon (R-Indiana), Michael Burgess (R-Texas), John Curtis (R-Utah), Geoff Duncan (R-South Carolina), Debbie Lesko (R-Arizona) and Greg Pence (R-Indiana). And according to Ballotpedia's tally of congressional retirements, she would be the 13th House Republican to not run for another two-year term.

While those representatives won't leave Washington until January of 2025, Mike Johnson has had to contend with Republicans leaving office prior to the next congress gaveling into session. Earlier this year, Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) abandoned his congressional seat in order to begin his new job as president of Youngstown State University. And after the expulsion of former Rep. George Santos (R-New York), Democrats may pick up a seat in New York's 3rd Congressional District, meaning the speaker will have an even thinner majority with which to govern. Former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-New York) is the Democratic nominee for Santos' old seat, and is running against political outsider Mazi Pilip, an Ethiopian-born Israeli citizen who moved to the US after completing graduate school. The special election will be held on Tuesday, February 13.

McMorris Rodgers' exit comes on the heels of two back-to-back losses for House Republicans earlier this week. Just minutes after Mike Johnson failed to get enough votes on a resolution to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Republicans also failed to pass a standalone measure to appropriate more funding to Israel.

READ MORE: House Republicans' majority shrinks even further after GOP rep announces surprise resignation