Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) announced on Thursday she will not be seeking re-election this year — adding to a long list of Republican members unwilling to stay in office.
Rodgers represented the far eastern part of Washington State in Congress, including the Spokane area.
"After much prayer and reflection, I’ve decided the time has come to serve the people of Eastern Washington in new ways. I will not be running for re-election to the People’s House," she wrote in a statement.
Rodgers is a high-ranking member of the GOP who previously chaired the House Republican Conference, a position that was also briefly held by former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY).
The only member of Congress representing Washington State who did not vote to impeach Trump over the Jan. 6 attack, Rodgers now chairs the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.
As Punchbowl News' Max Cohen noted, this departure marks a string of retirements by Republicans on Energy and Commerce.
"The amount of turnover on the Republican side of the Energy and Commerce Committee is pretty staggering," he wrote on X. "CMR, Burgess, Buchson, Duncan, Curtis, Lesko, Pence and Armstrong all leaving the House next year."
