Texas powerhouse who helped pass Trump’s unpopular megabill calls it quits

U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington, who carried Trump’s tax and spending megabill, is retiring

by Gabby Birenbaum, The Texas Tribune
November 11, 2025

Lubbock Republican Rep. Jodey Arrington announced his retirement after a decade of service at the U.S. House, ending an impressive career that saw him rise to the rank of Budget Committee chair and opening up yet another congressional seat in Texas.

Arrington will serve out his term, which ends in January 2027, but will not seek reelection.

Arrington, 53, is a fiscal hawk who has amassed considerable power leading the budget panel. He was a key cog in the passage of Republicans’ tax-and-spending megabill, which bore his name and passed through his committee earlier this year. He was recently in the running to succeed former Texas Tech University System Chancellor Tedd. L Mitchell, who announced his retirement earlier this year. The system ultimately selected former state Sen. Brandon Creighton for the job.

The West Texas native had already received President Donald Trump’s endorsement for next year’s election. But in a retirement video, Arrington said he felt it was time to pass the torch.

“I believe, as our founding fathers did, in citizen leadership — temporary service, not a career,” Arrington said. “And it’s time to do what George Washington did, and to ride off into that big, beautiful West Texas sunset, and to live under the laws that I passed.”

In the video, Arrington listed numerous local accomplishments — including getting cotton back under Title I of the 2018 farm bill, expanding Interstate 27 and bringing a B-21 “Raider” bomber aircraft to Dyess. He named the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as a distinct highlight, calling it “the most consequential piece of legislation in modern history.”

“It was my highest privilege to author and lead President Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,’ the principle legislative vehicle for advancing the America First Agenda, which included the largest tax and spending cuts, largest single investment in national and border security, and most significant welfare reforms in U.S. history,” Arrington said in a statement. “Let me be clear, I haven’t lost an ounce of passion for promoting West Texas values in Washington or a shred of fight for defending our freedoms and way of life, but I believe it’s time for this chapter in my journey to come to an end.”

He did not announce his next steps, saying that he planned to spend more time with his family and will “look forward to my next leadership challenge.” Arrington has said he wants to pass another Republican spending bill — the GOP still has a year of a guaranteed trifecta before the midterms.

The Lubbock Republican’s retirement ends a lengthy political career. Arrington worked in George W. Bush’s gubernatorial administration and then as a senior advisor in the Bush White House. He went on to be chief of staff for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and worked on the federal effort to rebuild the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.

Arrington then returned to Lubbock to work under then-Texas Tech Chancellor Kent Hance, who had previously represented Arrington’s same West Texas district in Congress. Arrington began serving as the Texas Tech University System’s chief of staff in 2006, then was tapped to be vice chancellor for research and commercialization in 2011. After a stint leading a health care innovation company and an unsuccessful Texas Senate bid, Arrington entered Congress in 2017.

Arrington quickly rose through the ranks of the Budget Committee and became its chair when Republicans took the majority after the 2022 midterm election. Long focused on efforts to reduce the national debt, he has advocated for various plans to significantly cut spending and balance the budget — a stance that has at times led to conflict with fellow Republicans.

Arrington will leave behind both the powerful Budget Committee chairmanship and a safely deep-red GOP seat, creating an opportunity for a Republican successor to begin a lengthy congressional career. Situated in rural West Texas and including Abilene and Lubbock, the 19th Congressional District, which was left untouched by Republican map-drawers in the Legislature’s recent redistricting, voted for Trump by a 52-point margin in 2024, his best performance in all 38 Texas congressional districts. But prospective Republican successors will need to make quick decisions — the filing deadline is Dec. 8. Democrat Kyle Rable first announced his campaign in May.

Between the new congressional map passed by the Texas Legislature to create more Republican-friendly seats and the retirements of Republican Reps. Michael McCaul and Chip Roy, the 2026 midterm is poised to usher in an entire class of Republican freshmen in Texas’ Washington delegation.

One of three Texans to hold committee chairmanships, Arrington’s name was floated for speaker during the 2023 House GOP race for the gavel. His decision to retire is another blow to Texas’ power in the House — already a far cry from the last Republican trifecta from 2017 to 2019, when seven Texans held chairmanships.

Only 10 of Texas’ 38 representatives have more seniority than Arrington. Of those, three are facing difficult reelection prospects due to redistricting and two are retiring.

Disclosure: Texas Tech University System has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.