Outgoing Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who led the hard-right House Freedom Caucus as its chairman from 2019 to 2022, took a parting swipe at his congressional colleagues in a break that could spell trouble for Republicans in Congress next year.
“Congress really is, in its own weird way, irredeemable,” said Biggs, speaking with NOTUS in a report published on Monday.
Biggs announced recently that he wouldn’t run for re-election in 2026, and instead would seek the governor’s office in Arizona, scoring an endorsement from President Donald Trump. Among Biggs’ leading justifications for his departure, he said, was what he described as Congress’ tendency to “always revert back to the mean,” against the HFC’s efforts to drag Congress further right.
“It goes to something President Trump said as he was leaving D.C. after his first term,” Biggs said. “It turns out the swamp is deeper than we ever thought.”
Biggs joins several other HFC Republicans in leaving Congress; Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Bryon Donalds (R-FL) are both departing to run for governor in their home states; Rep. Barry Moore is leaving Congress to run for Senate after Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) announced his own departure from Congress to run for Alabama governor.
The mass exodus of hard-right Republicans has led to some celebration among Democratic lawmakers, who hope that the HFC’s shrinking numbers may bode well for their prospects next year in forwarding their own agenda. Even some Republican lawmakers celebrated the impending departure of far-right Republican lawmakers, particularly the departure of Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who recently announced a bid for Texas attorney general.
“I wish Chip Roy nothing but the best. I hope he does very well,” said Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), speaking with The Hill recently. “The outcome of Chip leaving is a more productive Congress. He’s been a contrarian, and he’s been an obstructionist.”