'Countless' GOP lawmakers echo plans to retire after insider reveals 'lame duck is here'
Republican members of Congress continue to vent their frustrations and threaten to leave Washington amid the fallout from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, with some citing worries at the arrival of President Donald Trump's "lame duck" era.
Greene, long a staunch and outspoken ally of the president, announced on Friday evening that she will be resigning from Congress on Jan. 5, only halfway through her current term, citing her dissatisfaction with Trump's current term after her recent break from him on numerous issues. On Monday morning, a Punchbowl News report cited multiple anonymous GOP members of Congress with similar sentiments, with some predicting that more high-profile resignations are possible before the 2026 midterms.
“More explosive early resignations are coming," one Republican told Punchbowl. "It’s a tinder box. Morale has never been lower. [House Speaker] Mike Johnson will be stripped of his gavel and they will lose the majority before this term is out.”
Following the release of that report, its writer, Jake Sherman, took to X to share that more and more GOP members of Congress had reached out with their own similar sentiments and thoughts of resigning, expressing frustration over the bleak outlook for Congress for the next year or so.
"Since this [original report from Punchbowl] ran this morning — 4 hours ago? — I've gotten countless text messages from House Republicans agreeing with this sentiment," Sherman posted. "And saying why the hell should we stay in Congress if all we're going to do is vote on censures and be a potted plant."
Responding to one of Sherman's earlier posts about the story, conservative talk radio host Erick Erickson said that the sentiments shared by Punchbowl's sources matched what he had been hearing from Republicans in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
"Can confirm that both House and Senate guys despise the White House legislative team and are tired of being treated as just there to do the White House's bidding," Erickson wrote. "Lame Duck is here. These guys will either assert their need to be a part of decisions, or they will quit early."
