Republican Congresspeople quitting

[lpetrich]

Mark Meadows, top Trump ally, to retire from Congress | TheHill

Meadows, a four-term lawmaker who represents part of western North Carolina, said in a statement that he “struggled” with leaving what he has long considered a “temporary job.”

“For everything there is a season. After prayerful consideration and discussion with family, today I’m announcing that my time serving Western North Carolina in Congress will come to a close at the end of this term,” Meadows said. “This was a decision I struggled with greatly.”

“My work with President Trump and his administration is only beginning,” Meadows added. “This President has accomplished incredible results for the country in just 3 years, and I’m fully committed to staying in the fight with him and his team to build on those successes and deliver on his promises for the years to come. I’ve always said Congress is a temporary job, but the fight to return Washington, DC to its rightful owner, We The People, has only just begun.”

List of U.S. Congress incumbents who are not running for re-election in 2020 - Ballotpedia

Senate: 1 Democrat, 3 Republicans -- not enough to do good statistics
Out of 45 Democrats, 53 Republicans, and 2 Independents

House: 9 Democrats, 25 Republicans -- statistics much better
Out of 233 Democrats, 197 Republicans, 1 Independent, and 4 vacant seats

That is, 1 out of 26 Democrats and 1 out of 8 Republicans.

So why are so many Republicans quitting?

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

The GOP adopted a policy of limiting how long a GOP Congress person could hold a chairmanship of an important committee. Losing an important chairmanship position due to term limits to allow fresh blood, seems a good idea to some, but it means some of those who lost their positions are giving up and quitting. That seems to be part of it.

 

[lpetrich]

The GOP adopted a policy of limiting how long a GOP Congress person could hold a chairmanship of an important committee. Losing an important chairmanship position due to term limits to allow fresh blood, seems a good idea to some, but it means some of those who lost their positions are giving up and quitting. That seems to be part of it.

So they decided to quit rather than continue while demoted?

Rep. Duncan Hunter resigns from Congress - POLITICO

Hunter, 43, and his wife Margaret were indicted in August 2018 for allegedly diverting $250,000 in campaign funds for personal use, including to pay for lavish family vacations and their children’s school tuition. Prosecutors also accused Hunter of using campaign cash to pursue extramarital affairs with lobbyists and congressional aides.

Checking Ballotpedia again, the number of resigning Republicans has increased to 27. No other numbers have changed.

 

[Elixir]

Maybe it has something to do with the blatant corruption that has ravaged the party during this administration.
They can surely sense scrutiny coming, and they have to know that even the most minor transgressions are going to cast them in a very bad light and associate them with the worst of the lot.

The Republicans who predicted that Trump would destroy the party were correct. What remains to be seen is whether the scourge of Trumpism can be exorcised from American government, or if we are doomed to live in a banana republic under dictatorial rule.

 

[lpetrich]

Checking Ballotpedia again, it is 27 Republican Reps quitting, and still 9 Democrats. The most recent announcement was on February 26 of this year.

GOP House incumbents are leaving at a record pace - CNNPolitics

Among the newly departing: five-term Rep. Scott Tipton of Colorado. Tipton was endorsed by Trump, but lost to Lauren Boebert, a far-right challenger in Tuesday's primary.

A political newcomer, Boebert built support in Colorado as she positioned herself as the candidate more aligned with Trump's agenda, despite her apparent sympathy with QAnon, a pro-Trump conspiracy theory group.

But these departing Republicans are still unwilling to criticize Trump, just like those Republicans who have stayed in Congress.