One of a handful of Republicans who opposed Jim Jordan's nomination for speaker announced he won't be running for reelection.
On Wednesday, Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) became the second Jordan holdout to announce their retirement at the end of this term. Longtime Texas Rep. Kay Granger announced she would not seek reelection this morning.
Buck, in particular, voiced his concerns with his Republican colleagues who repeated former President Trump's specious election conspiracies.
He previously served as the head of the Colorado Republican Party.
Buck, a member of 2010's Tea Party wave, was also one of only eight Republicans who voted to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The New York Times has more, including speculation that Buck won't be the last Republican to announce their retirement amid the fallout from the chaos on Capitol Hill:
Mr. Buck, serving his fifth term from a sprawling district east of Denver after a career as a prosecutor, said he had decided to step aside because his differences with the contemporary Republican Party had grown too great to continue serving in its ranks. He condemned his party's reluctance to take on big issues and said it had badly damaged itself with voters.
“We lost our way,” said Mr. Buck, 64, who announced his intentions in interviews and a video news release. “We have an identity crisis in the Republican Party. If we can't address the election denier issue and we continue down that path, we won't have credibility with the American people that we are going to solve problems.”
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Mr. Buck's decision comes after several months in which his frustration and dissatisfaction with his party have been evident. He is the third House member to declare this week that he will not seek re-election next year after Representative Earl Blumenauer, Democrat of Oregon and a House member since 1996, said Monday he would not run again.
In the thick of the speaker fight, Representative Debbie Lesko, Republican of Arizona, announced that she would leave Congress after her current term, declaring that, “Right now, Washington is broken.”
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