Republicans are losing another House member. Ken Buck, a congressman from Colorado, announced that he will be leaving Congress in a few days after calling the current congressional term as “the worst year” in his career.
The move leaves his seat vacant, further shrinking the already tight majority claimed by the House Republicans.
The Washington Examiner writes:
“It is the worst year of the nine years and three months that I’ve been in Congress. And having talked to former members, it’s the worst year in 40, 50 years to be in Congress,” Buck told CNN on Tuesday when Dana Bash asked about how bleak being on the inside is.
“But I’m leaving because I think there’s a job to do out there that I want to go do.”
Buck said that in Colorado, he hears dissatisfaction with former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden and that a change is needed in the nation’s electoral laws.
“I have a passion for that. And I’m going to leave, and I’m going to find the right organization to join, and I’m going to start working on that issue,” Buck said. “We have to have better candidates up and down the ballot, not just president, but Senate, House, local offices. We’ve got to find better ways to elect candidates and bring America together.”
The announcement came as a shock to Republican leaders. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson told reporters he “was surprised by Ken’s announcement and I’m looking forward to talking with him about that,” and added he “did not know” ahead of time of Buck’s resignation.
A spokesperson for Buck said the congressman informed Johnson “roughly 30 minutes prior to his announcement and left a voicemail for the speaker.
Buck said if he gave GOP leadership advance notice, his resignation would have been leaked and he ‘wanted to do it on my own terms,'” according to USA Today.
The departure of Colorado Republican leaves the GOP House majority at merely a five-seat margin.
If hes a RINO who cares sad we lose our seat control for votes