Republican lawmaker Ken Buck announces he will leave Congress NEXT WEEK: Republican lawmakers surprise colleagues, further shrinking Speaker Mike Johnson’s majority
- “Today I’m announcing that I will be leaving Congress at the end of next week,” Buck said
- Speaker Johnson admitted to reporters that Buck did not brief him before his announcement
Republican Rep. Ken Buck announced Tuesday that he would leave Congress at the end of next week rather than serve the remainder of his term in Colorado’s Fourth District.
The Colorado Republican announced his decision in a short statement on social media.
“Today I’m announcing that I will be leaving Congress at the end of next week,” Buck said. “I look forward to continuing to be involved in our political process, and to spending more time with my family in Colorado.”
Rep. Ken Buck, R-CO announced Tuesday his decision to resign from Congress rather than complete his term.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson will only have a two-seat majority in the House after Buck’s departure.
Buck’s announcement surprised Republicans in the House of Representatives as House Speaker Mike Johnson tries to keep his majority intact and push through major spending bills.
Johnson admitted to reporters that Buck had not briefed him before his announcement.
‘I was surprised by Ken’s announcement. I look forward to talking to him about that,” he says told reporters on Capitol Hill.
After Buck leaves, Johnson and the Republicans will only have a two-seat majority in the House of Representatives.
Buck’s decision to resign his seat also has major implications for the race to replace his seat in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District.
Currently, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who represents Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, is one of at least ten candidates running to replace him in November.
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-CO, announced in December that she would run in the Republican primary to replace Buck.
Buck’s premature resignation will trigger a special election to replace him, forcing Boebert to make a decision about her political future. She must either resign her seat in the Third District Congress to run in a special election in the Fourth District or let another candidate fill the seat before challenging that candidate in November.
Buck spoke about his decision to reporters on Capitol Hill.
“This place keeps going downhill, and I don’t need to spend my time here,” he said.
He said he wanted to get involved in the 2024 election cycle but had not yet decided whether to join an organization or run for president.
Buck said he left a voicemail with the speaker but did not speak to him personally about his decision. He said he thought his early resignation would only help the party.
‘They have a chance to fill my seat. And I think whoever fills that seat for the next Congress as well as for the rest of this Congress will do a great job,” he said.
Buck, who was reportedly looking for a job at CNN or a similar media outlet, said he had no deal with any media organization but told reporters to let him know if they had any openings.
Republicans expected Buck to complete his term in Congress, even though he announced in November that he would not run for re-election.
His refusal to vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden angered conservatives in Colorado.
Buck made it clear to reporters that he did not expect to change his mind about leaving early.
“Mike Johnson’s ability to persuade me to stay here will be about as successful as his ability to persuade me to unconstitutionally impeach,” he said.