國會中的退休人數不斷增加:一些人因“混亂”而感到沮喪,另一些人則尋求新的職業——或者休息
作者:斯科特·麥克法蘭
2023 年 11 月 27 日 / 晚上 8:24 美國東部時間 / 哥倫比亞廣播公司新聞
俄勒岡州民主黨眾議員厄爾·布盧梅瑙爾 (Earl Blumenauer) 是本屆任期結束時離開國會的近 40 名議員之一。
布魯梅瑙爾告訴哥倫比亞廣播公司新聞:“我深深尊重兩黨的一些同事,但與他們合作越來越困難。” “房子裏無休無止的混亂確實消耗了大部分氧氣。”
氣候活動人士呼籲停止化石燃料補貼
文件:2021 年 6 月 29 日,俄勒岡州眾議員厄爾·布盧梅瑙爾 (Earl Blumenauer) 在華盛頓特區美國國會大廈附近的“終結化石燃料”集會上發表講話。 由我們的革命組織的示威者呼籲國會采取行動終止化石燃料補貼。
“眾議院的功能失調是我決定離開的部分原因,”科羅拉多州共和黨眾議員肯·巴克說。 “人們經常撒謊。當你揭穿謊言時,你就是壞人。我覺得我在國會之外比在國會內部能做更多的事情。”
61 歲的馬裏蘭州眾議員、民主黨人約翰·薩班斯 (John Sarbanes) 表示:“我正處於人生的這個階段,無論是年齡還是職業生涯,如果我還有新的篇章,我想要去探索它。” 在眾議院忙碌的一周之前,哥倫比亞廣播公司通過電話新聞報道。 薩班斯宣布他在眾議院的第九個任期將是他的最後一個任期。
隨著國會艱難地度過了一年的僵局、攤牌、尖刻和眾議院議長首次被罷黜,一波現任議員宣布他們將放棄在國會山的職業生涯。
一些眾議院議員和工作人員表示,大量退休人員令人不安,因為退休人員中包括被同行視為國會主力的資深議員。
房屋能源和商業加價
文件:左起,佛羅裏達州民主黨眾議員達倫·索托 (Darren Soto)、加利福尼亞州民主黨眾議員安娜·埃舒 (Anna Eshoo) 和特拉華州民主黨眾議員麗莎·布倫特·羅切斯特 (Lisa Blunt Rochester) 於 7 月 21 日星期二在雷伯恩大廈 (Rayburn Building) 參加眾議院能源和商業委員會加價活動。 2021 年。
湯姆·威廉姆斯/CQ-ROLL CALL, INC 通過蓋蒂圖片社
加利福尼亞州民主黨眾議員安娜·埃舒 (Anna Eshoo) 已在眾議院任職 32 年,她在國會生涯中發起了 60 多項立法並最終成為法律,她即將退休。
埃修在加利福尼亞州的辦公室研究室接受采訪時告訴哥倫比亞廣播公司新聞,“我從來沒有逃避過任何事情。我沒有逃離國會。我將從國會退休。我是否擔心眾議院的狀態? 代表們參加了?我當然參加了。我擔心這個國家。”
但當被問及第 118 屆國會的毒性是否促使她退休時,埃修回答說:“沒有。這不是我的理由。我認為是時候了。”
這類退休人員還包括得克薩斯州共和黨眾議員凱·格蘭傑(Kay Granger),他是權力很大的眾議院撥款委員會的主席。 華盛頓州民主黨眾議員德裏克·基爾默(Derek Kilmer)是西雅圖地區的國會議員,他最近幫助製定了一項實現國會現代化的計劃和報告,旨在提供“改善和加強眾議院的建議”。
眾議員布拉德·溫斯特魯普 (Brad Wenstrup) 是俄亥俄州共和黨人,擔任調查 COVID-19 大流行的小組主席,他也是一名退伍軍人,曾幫助應對和照顧在 2017 年弗吉尼亞州槍擊事件中受傷的眾議院同事。
即將離任的議員名單中還包括曆來彌合分歧並提供關鍵選票的中間派參議員,其中包括猶他州共和黨參議員米特·羅姆尼和西弗吉尼亞州民主黨參議員喬·曼欽。
龐大的數字可能會導致國會失去一些機構記憶以及幫助達成交易和兩黨立法的關係。
為國會辦公室提供谘詢服務的非營利組織國會管理基金會表示,國會的經驗已經在減少。 基金會主席布拉德·菲奇 (Brad Fitch) 告訴哥倫比亞廣播公司新聞 (CBS News),“在 2023 年國會開始時,大約一半的眾議院議員擁有四年或更少的工作經驗。”
“無論我們談論的是足球教練、神經外科醫生還是國會議員,經驗都很重要,”菲奇說。 “國會難以履行對美國公眾的基本責任的原因之一是,他們中的許多人仍在學習如何做好自己的工作。”
這些退休人員還包括那些尋求更高職位或其他職位的人,其中包括弗吉尼亞州民主黨眾議員阿比蓋爾·斯潘伯格(Abigail Spanberger),她是中間派交易撮合者,她於2018年將弗吉尼亞州的紅區變成了藍區。斯潘伯格已宣布她將在2025年競選該州州長。
西弗吉尼亞州共和黨眾議員亞曆克斯·穆尼(Alex Mooney)即將離開一年前他在一場痛苦而備受矚目的黨內初選後贏得的席位,轉而尋求共和黨提名,爭奪曼欽(Manchin)空出的西弗吉尼亞州參議院席位。
離職可能會擴散。 布盧梅瑙爾表示,他不太願意競選連任,因為與他合作製定立法的許多共和黨人都是共和黨人。
特別提到溫斯特魯普的退休。
埃修的離職在民主黨人中引起了反響。 前眾議院議長南希·佩洛西在一份聲明中告訴哥倫比亞廣播公司新聞,“女議員埃修一直是美國國會的巨人。三十年來,她不僅出色地代表了她認為最好的選區,而且代表了我們的選區。” 州和我們的國家。看到我們的價值觀和我們的立法之間的聯係。”
國會的毒性和 2021 年 1 月 6 日國會大廈襲擊事件的後果繼續產生影響。
“人們經常撒謊,”巴克說。 “謊稱選舉被竊取,謊稱 1 月 6 日是在無人引導的情況下參觀國會大廈,謊稱 1 月 6 日被告是政治犯。”
一些人的退休可能會對各黨贏得眾議院多數席位的能力產生影響。 預計斯潘伯格的席位將成為共和黨的重點爭奪目標。
代表搖擺州藍領地區的密歇根州民主黨眾議員丹·基爾迪在退休聲明中代表該黨表達了樂觀態度。 他表示,他相信民主黨明年將贏得弗林特地區的席位。
曼欽的退休引發了人們對他可能考慮第三方競選白宮的猜測,從而危及拜登總統的連任前景。 本月早些時候,曼欽在接受哥倫比亞廣播公司晚間新聞主播兼總編輯諾拉·奧唐納采訪時表達了對國會黨派之爭的失望。
“我得出的結論是,我們不會在華盛頓解決這個問題,”曼欽說。 “我們正在失去那個中間部分。我們正在失去你如何得出結論以通過我們通過的法案的核心。”
Retirements mount in Congress: Some are frustrated by "chaos," and others seek new careers — or rest
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/congress-retirement-numbers-growing-frustrated-chaos/
BY SCOTT MACFARLANE
Congressman Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat, is one of nearly 40 lawmakers leaving Congress at the end of this term.
"I deeply respect some of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, but it's harder and harder to work with them," Blumenauer told CBS News. "The unending chaos in the House really takes up most of the oxygen."
"The dysfunction in the House is part of the reason why I've decided to leave," said GOP Rep. Ken Buck, of Colorado. "People are lying a lot. And when you call out the lies, you're the bad guy. I feel like I can do more outside of Congress than inside of Congress."
"I'm at that point of my life, age-wise and career-wise, where if I have one more chapter, I want to go explore it," 61-year-old Maryland Rep. John Sarbanes, a Democrat, told CBS News by phone ahead of a busy week in the House. Sarbanes has announced his ninth term in the House will be his final one.
As Congress slogs through a year of stalemates, showdowns, acrimony and the first-ever ousting of a House speaker, a wave of incumbent lawmakers have announced they're walking away from their Capitol Hill careers.
The large number of retirements is troubling, said some House members and staffers, because the retirees include veteran lawmakers considered to be workhorses of Congress by their peers.
Rep. Anna Eshoo, a California Democrat in her 32nd year in the House, will retire after a congressional career in which she sponsored over 60 pieces of legislation that became law.
In an interview from her office study in California, Eshoo told CBS News, "I've never run away from anything. I'm not fleeing the Congress. I'm retiring from Congress. Do I worry about the state that the House of Representatives is in? I certainly do. I worry about the country."
But when pressed on whether the toxicity of the 118th Congress persuaded her to retire, Eshoo replied, "Not really. That's not my reason. I think it's time."
This class of retirees also includes Rep. Kay Granger, the Texas Republican who chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee. And Rep. Derek Kilmer, Democrat of Washington, the Seattle-area congressman who recently helped develop a plan and report to modernize Congress, which sought to offer "recommendations for improving and strengthening the House."
Rep. Brad Wenstrup is an Ohio Republican who chairs a panel investigating the COVID-19 pandemic, and he's also a military veteran who helped respond and care for a House colleague wounded in a 2017 shooting spree in Virginia.
The list of departing lawmakers also includes centrist senators who have a history of bridging gaps and providing pivotal votes, including Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican, and Sen. Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia.
The sheer numbers threaten to bleed Congress of some its institutional memory and the relationships that helped forge deals and bipartisan legislation.
The Congressional Management Foundation, a nonprofit which provides consulting for congressional offices, said experience is already dwindling in Congress. Foundation president Brad Fitch told CBS News, "At the start of this Congress in 2023 about half of the House of Representatives had four years or less of experience in their jobs."
"Experience matters, whether we talking about football coaches, neurosurgeons or members of Congress," Fitch said. "One of the reasons why Congress is having difficulty fulfilling it's basic responsibilities to the American public is because many of them are still learning how to do their jobs."
The retirees also include those seeking higher or different offices, including Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Virginia Democrat and centrist dealmaker who turned a red district to blue in Virginia in 2018. Spanberger has announced she's running for governor of her state in 2025.
West Virginia GOP Rep. Alex Mooney is departing a seat he won after an agonizing and high-profile intraparty primary just a year ago, to pursue the Republican nomination for the West Virginia Senate seat Manchin is vacating.
The departures could metastasize. Blumenauer said he was less inclined to run for reelection because so many of the Republicans with whom he partners on legislation are leaving, citing in particular Wenstrup's retirement.
Eshoo's departure has reverberated among Democrats. In a statement, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CBS News, "Congresswoman Eshoo has been a giant in the Congress of the United States. For three decades, she has magnificently represented not only her district, which she considers the best, but also our state and our country. Seeing the connection between our values and our legislation."
The toxicity of the Congress and the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol continue to have an impact.
"People are lying a lot," Buck said. "Lying about the election being stolen, about Jan. 6 being an unguided tour of the Capitol, about the Jan. 6 defendants being political prisoners."
Some of the retirements could have an impact on each party's ability to win a majority in the House. Spanberger's seat is expected to be heavily targeted by Republicans.
In his retirement announcement, Rep. Dan Kildee, Democrat of Michigan, who represents a blue-collar area in a swing state, expressed optimism on behalf of his party. He said he is confident a Democrat will win his seat in the Flint area next year.
Manchin's retirement has fueled speculation that he might consider a third-party run for the White House, endangering the reelection prospects of President Biden. Speaking earlier this month with CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell, Manchin expressed frustration with partisanship in Congress.
"I've come to the conclusion we're not going to fix it here in Washington," Manchin said. "We're losing that middle. We're losing the core of how you come you come to conclusions to pass the bills that we pass."
This page lists the incumbent members of the 117th U.S. Congress who did not run for re-election in the 2022 congressional elections for both U.S. Senate and U.S. House.
Fifty-five members of Congress—six members of the U.S. Senate and 49 members of the U.S. House— announced they would not seek re-election in 2022. Of those, 38 members—six senators and 32 representatives—announced their retirement. Five retiring Senate members were Republicans and one was a Democrat, and of the retiring House members, 22 were Democrats and 10 were Republicans.
Seventeen U.S. House members ran for other offices:
No U.S. Senate members ran for other offices.
Between January 2011 and February 2022, a total of 295 incumbents retired from the U.S. House and Senate. Out of every election cycle from 2012 to 2020, the 2018 cycle had the highest number of retirements at 55, and the 2020 cycle had the fewest with 40 announcements. From 2011 to 2021, there were an average of 26 announcements per year.
Retired from public office, 2022 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Party | State | Date announced | |||
Richard Burr | Republican | North Carolina | July 20, 2016[1] | |||
Pat Toomey | Republican | Pennsylvania | Oct. 5, 2020[2] | |||
Rob Portman | Republican | Ohio | Jan. 25, 2021[3] | |||
Richard Shelby | Republican | Alabama | Feb. 8, 2021[4] | |||
Roy Blunt | Republican | Missouri | March 8, 2021[5] | |||
Patrick Leahy | Democratic | Vermont | November 15, 2021[6] |
Forty-nine representatives did not seek re-election to their U.S. House seats (not including those who left office early):
Retired from public office, 2022 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Party | State | Date announced | |||
Christopher Jacobs | Republican | New York | June 3, 2022[7] | |||
Bob Gibbs | Republican | Ohio | April 6, 2022[8] | |||
Fred Upton | Republican | Michigan | April 5, 2022[9] | |||
Van Taylor | Republican | Texas | March 2, 2022[10] | |||
Ted Deutch | Democratic | Florida | February 28, 2022[11] | |||
Fred Keller | Republican | Pennsylvania | February 28, 2022[12] | |||
Kathleen Rice | Democratic | New York | February 15, 2022[13] | |||
Jim Cooper | Democratic | Tennessee | January 25, 2022[14] | |||
Jerry McNerney | Democratic | California | January 18, 2022[15] | |||
Jim Langevin | Democratic | Rhode Island | January 18, 2022[16] | |||
John Katko | Republican | New York | January 14, 2022[17] | |||
Trey Hollingsworth | Republican | Indiana | January 12, 2022[18] | |||
Ed Perlmutter | Democratic | Colorado | January 10, 2022[19] | |||
Brenda Lawrence | Democratic | Michigan | January 4, 2022[20] | |||
Bobby Rush | Democratic | Illinois | January 3, 2022[21] | |||
Albio Sires | Democratic | New Jersey | December 21, 2021[22] | |||
Lucille Roybal-Allard | Democratic | California | December 21, 2021[23] | |||
Stephanie Murphy | Democratic | Florida | December 20, 2021[24] | |||
Alan Lowenthal | Democratic | California | December 16, 2021[25] | |||
Peter DeFazio | Democratic | Oregon | December 1, 2021[26] | |||
G.K. Butterfield | Democratic | North Carolina | November 19, 2021[27] | |||
Jackie Speier | Democratic | California | November 16, 2021[28] | |||
Adam Kinzinger | Republican | Illinois | October 29, 2021[29] | |||
Michael Doyle | Democratic | Pennsylvania | October 18, 2021[30] | |||
David Price | Democratic | North Carolina | October 18, 2021[31] | |||
John Yarmuth | Democratic | Kentucky | October 12, 2021[32] | |||
Anthony Gonzalez | Republican | Ohio | September 16, 2021[33] | |||
Ron Kind | Democratic | Wisconsin | August 10, 2021[34] | |||
Cheri Bustos | Democratic | Illinois | April 30, 2021[35] | |||
Kevin Brady | Republican | Texas | April 14, 2021[36] | |||
Ann Kirkpatrick | Democratic | Arizona | March 12, 2021[37] | |||
Eddie Bernice Johnson | Democratic | Texas | October 9, 2019[38] |
Ran for Senate, 2022 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Party | Seat | Date announced | |||
Markwayne Mullin | Republican | Oklahoma's 2nd Congressional District | February 26, 2022[39] | |||
Peter Welch | Democratic | Vermont's At-Large Congressional District | November 22, 2021[40] | |||
Conor Lamb | Democratic | Pennsylvania's 17th | August 6, 2021[41] | |||
Billy Long | Republican | Missouri's 7th | August 3, 2021[42] | |||
Vicky Hartzler | Republican | Missouri's 4th | June 10, 2021[43] | |||
Val Demings | Democratic | Florida's 10th | June 9, 2021[44] | |||
Ted Budd | Republican | North Carolina's 13th | April 28, 2021[45] | |||
Tim Ryan | Democratic | Ohio's 13th | April 26, 2021[46] | |||
Mo Brooks | Republican | Alabama's 5th | March 22, 2021[47] |
Ran for governor, 2022 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Party | Seat | Date announced | |||
Kai Kahele | Democratic | Hawaii's 2nd | May 7, 2022[48] | |||
Tom Suozzi | Democratic | New York's 3rd | November 29, 2021[49] | |||
Charlie Crist | Democratic | Florida's 13th | May 4, 2021[50] | |||
Lee Zeldin | Republican | New York's 1st | April 8, 2021[51][52] |
Ran for another office, 2022 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Party | Seat | Date announced | |||
Louie Gohmert | Republican | Texas' 1st | November 22, 2021[53] | |||
Anthony G. Brown | Democratic | Maryland's 4th | October 25, 2021[54] | |||
Karen Bass | Democratic | California's 37th | September 27, 2021[55] | |||
Jody Hice | Republican | Georgia's 10th | March 22, 2021[56] |
Note: The individuals in the list below were not included in the number of congressional retirements above. In most cases, replacements were sworn in before the 2022 elections.[57]
The following table includes figures on Democratic and Republican members of Congress who either left office during their term or announced that they would not seek re-election for each election year since 2012.
[hide]Outgoing members of Congress, 2012-2020 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Chamber | Democrats not seeking re-election | Republicans not seeking re-election | Total not seeking re-election | Democrats leaving office early | Republicans leaving office early | Total leaving office early |
2020 | |||||||
U.S. Senate | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
U.S. House | 9 | 26 | 36[75] | 3 | 8 | 11 | |
Total | 10 | 29 | 40 | 3 | 9 | 12 | |
2018 | |||||||
U.S. Senate | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
U.S. House | 18 | 34 | 52 | 3 | 14 | 17 | |
Total | 18 | 37 | 55 | 4 | 16 | 20 | |
2016 | |||||||
U.S. Senate | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
U.S. House | 16 | 24 | 40 | 2 | 5 | 7 | |
Total | 19 | 26 | 45 | 2 | 5 | 7 | |
2014 | |||||||
U.S. Senate | 5 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
U.S. House | 16 | 25 | 41 | 3 | 6 | 9 | |
Total | 21 | 27 | 48 | 6 | 8 | 14 | |
2012 | |||||||
U.S. Senate | 6 | 3 | 10[76] | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
U.S. House | 23 | 20 | 43 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
Total | 29 | 23 | 53 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
The following chart compares the number of Democrats and Republicans in Congress who did not seek re-election between 2012 and 2020.
The number of retirements in each party as a percentage of the party's total number of Congressional members illustrates the amount of turnover happening within a party in a given election cycle. The table below shows Congressional retirements as a percentage of each party's total caucus members immediately following the previous election.
Retirements as percent of Democrat and Republican caucus | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cycle | Total retiring incumbents | Retiring Democrats | Retiring Democrats as percentage of caucus | Retiring Republicans | Retiring Republicans as percentage of caucus |
2022 | 55 | 32 | 11.85% | 23 | 8.75% |
2020 | 40 | 10 | 3.57% | 29 | 11.46% |
2018 | 55 | 18 | 7.44% | 37 | 12.63% |
2016 | 45 | 19 | 8.12% | 26 | 8.64% |
2014 | 48 | 21 | 8.47% | 27 | 9.41% |
Retirements in districts with a narrow margin of victory (MOV) can indicate a potentially competitive election in the next cycle. Retirements from seats with a margin of victory of less than 10 percentage points in each election cycle included:
Retirements in districts that had a MOV of 10 percentage points or less in the prior cycle, 2014-2022 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Cycle | Total retiring incumbents | Retiring incumbents with MOV of <10% | Retiring Democrats with MOV of <10% | Retiring Republicans with MOV of <10% |
2022 | 55 | 10 | 7 | 3 |
2020 | 40 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
2018 | 55 | 8 | 5 | 3 |
2016 | 45 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
2014 | 48 | 10 | 5 | 5 |
Between January 2011 and November 2023, Ballotpedia tracked 338 announcements from members of the U.S. House and Senate who announced they would not run for re-election. January had the highest number of members announcing they would not run for re-election at 59. Thirty-nine of those took place during election years and 20 during odd-number years. The fewest announcements took place in June at 12—nine during off years and three during election years.
Hover over the bars in the chart below to see the number of even- and odd-year announcements by month.
November had the second-highest total announcements at 46. Five November announcements occurred during an election year and 41 occurred during an off year.
August saw the second-fewest announcements after June at 15. All but one occurred during off years.
The following table shows the number of members who announced they would not run for re-election by month and by year. Click on a month to sort the table in ascending or descending order by that month.
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