Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) announced Tuesday that he will be retiring from Congress at the end of next week which will narrow the House GOP’s razor-thin majority even further.
Buck, announced last year that he would retire at the end of his current term but moved up the timeline on Tuesday citing the dysfunction in Congress.
“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. But I’m leaving because I think there’s a job to do out there,” Buck told CNN on Tuesday. “This place has just devolved into this bickering and nonsense and not really doing the job for the American people.”
In a statement on social media Buck wrote: “It has been an honor to serve the people of Colorado’s 4th District in Congress for the past 9 years. I want to thank them for their support and encouragement throughout the years. Today, I am announcing that I will depart Congress at the end of next week. I look forward to staying involved in our political process, as well as spending more time in Colorado with my family.”
Buck is a hardline conservative and a member of the ultra conservative House Freedom Caucus. However, he has found himself disagreeing with his party on several issues important to their base including the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the ongoing effort to impeach President Joe Biden.
With Buck’s departure, Republicans’ majority has shrunk to 218 seats to 213 for Democrats, with three vacancies. This means Republicans could only afford to lose two votes to pass legislation on a party-line vote.
