House Republicans are finding life as the majority isn't quite as enjoyable as they'd hoped, and that's sending many of them for the exits.
So far, 23 GOP lawmakers have either decided not to seek re-election or resigned early from a 118th Congress that has been wracked by dysfunction, power struggles and divisiveness, and that exodus has raised alarms, reported CNN.
“I thought that some of our members would be smarter," said Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), an ally of ousted former House speaker Kevin McCarthy. “A lot of us are frustrated with what’s going on, and that’s just being flat-out honest. It’s foolish, and it’s been proven to be foolish. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”
Five committee chairs are retiring, including Energy and Commerce chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and China select committee chair Mike Gallagher (R-WI), and eight Republicans are retiring from the highly prized Energy and Commerce Committee.
“Those are big losses for us,” said Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN), who's one of those eight members stepping away. “It is alarming. Especially for the institutional knowledge … So, that’s a big deal.”
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Republicans took 15 contentious votes to finally elect McCarthy as speaker at the start of this Congress, but right-wing hardliners voted him out 10 months later and replaced him with Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA).
But those rabble-rousers aren't worried about losing experienced legislators.
“Brain drain? Why don’t you survey the country and see if there is any brain to drain in Congress," said Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. "Congress has a 20 percent approval rating. Most of what we do to the country is bad. I think the retirements are a wonderful thing … I have no concerns, zero concerns. We probably need a few more retirements.”
