Capitol Hill On Edge As Report Claims Up To 20 More House Republicans May Retire

Capitol Hill is buzzing after a Puck News report suggests that as many as 20 more House Republicans could call it quits in the coming months. Lawmakers are reportedly fed up with mounting frustration over stalled legislation, nonstop fundraising demands, and a sense that the chamber simply isn’t functioning.

Most of the potential retirees come from safe GOP districts, but the party’s razor-thin majority means every departure matters. If more than a handful of seats are left vacant before January 2027, Democrats could temporarily gain a procedural edge. And if anyone from a competitive district steps down? The risk of the House flipping next November skyrockets, especially since minority parties usually come out on top in midterm years.

Several factors appear to be fueling the discontent. Some Republicans are irritated by Speaker Mike Johnson’s perceived deference to President Donald Trump. Others point to the House’s anemic output: only 46 bills have passed into law this session. (RELATED: Johnson Pushes Rule Changes After Discharge Petition Forces Action On Epstein Files)

Puck’s Leigh Ann Caldwell has more, including accounts from Republicans who are quietly stewing over the infighting inside the GOP, even with the party holding a full governing trifecta after its 2024 wins:

Unlike the silver tsunami of retirements on the Democratic side, the Republican stampede for the exits is primarily a testament to political discontent. Most of the Democrats retiring are octogenarians or have served at least two decades, including Jan Schakowsky, Danny Davis, Jerry Nadler, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Dwight Evans, Nydia Velázquez, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But many of the retiring Republicans have not served that long, and they aren’t ready for Brandywine or Green Grove. Among those who have already announced they won’t seek another term, Rep. Jodey Arrington, chair of the Budget Committee, is 53 and has served almost 10 years; Rep. Troy Nehls is 57 and was first elected in 2020; and Rep. Morgan Luttrell just turned 50 and is only in his second term.

Following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, the G.O.P. has been aimless and lacking an agenda. They’re fighting over healthcare, they can’t agree on an affordability message (let alone an affordability plan), and many feel an increased, if familiar, lack of respect from the White House. Speaker Mike Johnson isn’t helping, as he hands congressional power to the president and makes the Article I branch of government ever more irrelevant—a concession that has apparently dawned on many only recently.

Meanwhile, legislative productivity continues to decline. It had already hit a record low last Congress, when just 274 bills were signed into law, the lowest number since GovTrack started keeping tabs in 1973. But this Congress is on course to be less productive still, having so far gotten only 46 bills signed into law.

Republicans are so frustrated with Johnson’s reluctance to move bills that they are defying him by filing discharge petitions—three of them so far this year—a tactic that was once unheard of from the majority party. Most recently, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida filed a discharge petition to ban congressional stock trading. “The reason I forced it is because they wouldn’t even allow us to go and debate this in committee,” she told me. “Members actually wanted to engage in the conversation. They actually prevented us.” Vocal South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, who is leaving Congress to run for governor, told me: “I’m tired of signing discharge petitions to get our agenda passed.”

Beyond the hyper-partisanship that has become routine, serving in the House has lost much of its appeal due to relentless fundraising demands. Tens of millions of dollars are now spent in competitive districts every two years, and the nonstop election cycle forces members to spend hours each day making fundraising calls. (RELATED: Senior GOP Lawmaker Warns Party Will Lose House Majority Before Midterms)

Anxiety about the 2026 midterms isn’t helping. Trump is currently at a net-negative approval rating of 13.5 points, and Republicans underperformed in nearly every major contest in the 2025 off-year elections.

Most retirements would not immediately imperil the GOP majority. But with Republicans holding just 220 seats to Democrats’ 213, even a single mid-session resignation can change the equation. If other disgruntled members — like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — were to step down, Democrats would suddenly have far more room to maneuver.

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