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Nobody Really Wants More of the 118th Congress

As lawmakers flee, it seems unlikely much will get done for the remainder of this year.

Mike Johnson
More than three dozen House members have announced they won’t seek reelection this year and a number are leaving much earlier than expected. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Lawmakers are counting down the days until the end of the cursed 118th Congress. Some of them have decided it’s over now.

Rep. Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican who has clashed with his party, called it quits last week. Rep. Mike Gallagher — the 40-year-old retiring Republican who chairs the House panel on competition with the Chinese government — also said Friday he is leaving mid-April before the committee’s work has finished. And Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger, who isn’t seeking reelection, said last week she will step down from leading the panel even though Congress is moving into another appropriations season, and House Republicans will quickly need to find a new top negotiator.

“Happy to move on. Dysfunctional place,” Buck said bluntly on ABC’s “This Week.”