Republican Rep. Ken Buck gave the political world a jolt last fall when he announced he wouldn’t seek re-election in 2024. This afternoon, the Colorado Republican went a step further: Buck is resigning from Congress altogether — next week.
The GOP congressman’s written statement read:
“It has been an honor to serve the people of Colorado’s 4th district in Congress for the past nine years. I want to thank them for their support and encouragement throughout the years. Today, I am announcing that I will depart Congress at the end of next week. I look forward to staying involved in our political process, as well as spending more time in Colorado and with my family.”
He did not elaborate as to his potential next steps, or what precipitated this sudden and unexpected announcement.
Buck apparently did not even pay his own party’s leaders the courtesy of a conversation. “I was surprised by Ken’s announcement,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters. “I look forward to talking to him about that.” (A spokesperson for Buck told Politico that Buck left the speaker a voicemail message about 30 minutes ahead of time.)
Given the practical implications, Johnson and other GOP leaders have every reason to be disappointed, their occasional clashes with Buck notwithstanding. As things currently stand in the chamber, the House now has 219 Republicans, 213 Democrats, and three vacancies. In terms of the legislative arithmetic, that means that on any given floor vote, it takes 217 members to pass the legislation.
Barring a sudden change of heart, Buck’s departure will lower the Republican majority to just 218 members.
Let’s not forget that Johnson and his leadership team have spent recent months struggling mightily to complete basic legislative tasks. A recent Punchbowl News report concluded, “This is the most chaotic, inefficient and ineffective majority we’ve seen in decades covering Congress.”
That was nearly a month ago. Now, Republican leaders’…
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