Republican Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, a staunch conservative who has at times been at odds with his own party, announced Tuesday that he will leave Congress at the end of next week.
Buck criticized the impasse on Capitol Hill, telling CNN's Dana Bash, “In my nine years and three months in Congress, it's the worst year I've talked to former members. I'm going to be in Congress for 40, 50 years, but I'm leaving thinking there's a job.”
“This place has turned into this fight and nonsense and not really getting the job done for the American people,” he said.
The Colorado Republican's exit from the House would shake up the chamber's partisan breakdown, where Republicans control only a narrow majority — a major challenge for Speaker Mike Johnson, who is often forced to rely on votes from Democrats and Republicans. Act across the finish line.
Buck stepping down before the end of his term would reduce the Republicans' slim edge to 218 seats to the Democrats' 213, three vacancies. With that breakdown, Republicans could fall just two votes short of passing the legislation on a party-line vote.
Pressed by Bash about whether Donald Trump's presumptive GOP nominee status affected his decision, Pugh said, “Whether he's the nominee or not, I think our system is broken in how we choose candidates, and I want to be involved in that process. ”
“Everywhere I go in Colorado, Dana, I hear people are unhappy with Trump and they're unhappy with (President Joe) Biden,” Pugh said. “I'm going to figure out the right system to join and start working on that issue. There should be better candidates up and down the ballot.
Pg declared He did not seek re-election last year, citing stagnation in Congress and his party's electoral decline as factors in his decision not to run in 2024.
Buck, a former Justice Department attorney, was first elected to Congress in 2014.
This story has been updated with additional updates.
CNN's Jack Forrest contributed to this report.
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