House Republican gives up and announces retirement in midst of Speaker battle
Just how poorly are things going for House Republicans? In the midst of their ongoing failure to pick a Speaker of the House, one of their members has gotten so frustrated with the whole thing that she’s decided to retire.
Shortly after today’s first failed Speaker vote, House Republican Debbie Lesko announced that she’s retiring at the end of her term. She’s giving the usual excuses about wanting to spend more time with her family, but she’s also adding that “Washington, D.C. is broken; it is hard to get anything done.” Well okay then.
It’s pretty bad for House Republicans when their internal dysfunction reaches the point that one of their members abruptly announces her retirement in the midst of the dysfunction.
Debbie Lesko’s district leans ten points Republican, so it’s not likely to become competitive even with her retirement; the Republican majority in her district will very likely just replace her with another Republican. But the thing to watch for will be if Lesko’s retirement is a sign of more House Republican retirements to come. How many more of them are getting sick of this nonsense, and are ready to quit and go start their lobbying careers? And will some of them end up being from competitive districts?
