Friday, November 03, 2017

House Republican committee chairs retiring in droves; is your representative seeking re-election?

House Republicans are retiring "in droves," James Hohmann reports for The Washington Post, despite the GOP's control of Congress. Two Texans who serve as committee chairmen -- Lamar Smith, who heads up the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, and Jeb Hensarling, who chairs the Financial Services Committee -- say they're not seeking re-election in 2018 because they've reached the term limit for the committees they chair, and it's hard to go back to being a regular representative after having that kind of power.

"Being a "backbencher in the minority party of a majoritarian institution like the House is depressing and joyless, Hohmann writes. "Unless you're Nancy Pelosi, you're functionally irrelevant." Also, the "very real prospect of losing the majority next November makes sticking around even less desirable."

It may be a good time to ask your member(s) of the House of Representatives whether they plan to run for re-election next year, if they haven't said so yet.

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