Republican Congressman Slams Colleagues as Dozens of GOP Members Resign

As the infamously dysfunctional 118th Congress takes a break, no fewer than 23 GOP lawmakers have already resigned or announced they will not seek re-election. Representative Carlos Gimenez slammed his colleagues for their refusal to tone down the chaos.

Major losses

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Those 23 Republicans calling it quits include members and chairs of crucial committees, including the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Totaling the damage

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So far, five Republican committee chairs are retiring, including the chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the chair of the China select committee.

Big damage

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“Those are big losses for us,” Representative Greg Pence told CNN. “It is alarming.”

Foolishness

“I thought some of our members would be smarter,” Representative Carlos Gimenez complained. “It’s foolish. And it’s proven to be foolish. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

All gummed up

According to NPR, by the end of 2023 the 118th Congress had been “the least productive in decades.” The GOP-controlled House passed just 27 bills that became law, despite voting almost 750 times. In comparison, in 2013 the Republican-controlled House passed 72 bills that became law.

Infighting

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“When you’re divided in your own conference, the joy of the job is harder,” Representative Don Bacon explained. “When you have folks on your own team with their knives out, it makes it less enjoyable.”

Embarrassing situation

Republican infighting has led to a number of embarrassing defeats in the House. In January, the New York Times argued that a House majority conference losing an “adopting a rule” procedural vote as “all but unthinkable.” After not happening for decades, in 2023 it occurred six times.

Failure after failure

House Speaker Mike Johnson has failed to bring to a vote a bill reauthorizing Section 702 and legislation changing the limit on tax deductions. He also failed to pass bills providing aid to Israel and scuppered a bipartisan border deal that top Republicans in the Senate had spent months working on.

Total chaos

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Johnson replaced Kevin McCarthy, who in October became the first House Speaker to be ousted in US history after a group of far-right members of his own party rebelled against him. Some of these members have hinted that Johnson may soon face the same fate.

Sending threats

In early February, for example, controversial Representative Lauren Boebert suggested to Steve Bannon that certain members were considering launching an attack on Johnson. In January, Representative Chip Roy made similar threats on Fox, claiming that “the speaker needs to know that we’re angry.”

Brain drain

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“You get this panic and anxiety like, ‘OK, who’s going to step up? Is this a normal thing that happens every few years, or is it actually abnormal?’” Representative August Pfluger told CNN. “I’m very worried about it.”

Time to panic

Representative Greg Pence, who is one of the Republicans leaving the Energy and Commerce Committee, said the “big losses” were “a big deal.” “It is alarming,” he said, “especially for the institutional knowledge.”

Not worried

“Brain drain?” Representative Bob Good scoffed. “Why don’t you survey the country and see if there is any brain to drain in Congress. Congress has a 20 percent approval rating. Most of what we do to the country is bad. I think the retirements are a wonderful thing.… I have no concerns, zero concerns. We probably need a few more retirements.”

Put another way

“Look, it hasn’t been pleasant, there’s no question about that,” Representative Tom Cole acknowledged. “But we have a lot of great young members, and I’ve looked at a lot of the recruits coming in, and I’m not too worried.”