Republican party control of the House after the 2024 election is growing more tenuous due to more "despondent" GOP lawmakers eyeing the exit after a tumultuous session highlighted by the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) by a faction led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
According to a new report from Politico, multiple House GOPers have already announced they are stepping away for a variety of reasons while others are eyeing jobs outside the government or an opening in the less chaotic Senate.
Rep. Garrett Graves (R-LA) was considering jumping into the race for governor of his state before taking a pass, but still expressed dismay with the state of the House which has reached new levels of dysfunction.
“This place, right now, I think it’s childish. I mean, this isn’t a place where you attract the cream of the crop,” he told Politico's Steve Shepard.
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Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) agreed and claimed "retirement chatter" has reached new heights among his colleagues.
“People are talking about it — more openly than they ever talked about it. Like wondering, ‘Is this really worth my time and effort?’” he admitted.
"For members who are on the fence about running again, there’s a lot of uncertainty about this political environment, and which party is more likely to hold majorities in the new Congress: Former President Donald Trump leads President Joe Biden in the polls, though Democrats have had more electoral success since the end of federal abortion rights," the report states before adding, "... it’s been a particularly tumultuous and dispiriting stretch on Capitol Hill. A small group of Republicans booted Kevin McCarthy from the speakership and ignited a three-week battle for a replacement — not to mention the struggles in advancing pretty much any spending legislation. House Republicans interviewed this week by POLITICO’s reporters in the Capitol sounded despondent notes about what it’s like to be serving in Congress right now."
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