Colorado Republican Rep. Ken Buck is making his way to the Congressional exit doors, and this will be a huge headache for his colleagues on the right as it further chips away at the GOP majority in the House. Buck already said he wouldn't run for reelection in 2024, but he surprised his colleagues by announcing Tuesday that he would leave the House next week.
"Today, I am announcing that I will depart Congress at the end of next week," Buck said in a statement. "I look forward to staying involved in our political process and spending more time in Colorado and with my family."
NBC News reports:
His departure will cut the House Republican margin to 218-213; Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will still have two votes to spare before needing Democrats to govern.
He is not a member of the Chaos Crew:
He criticized his fellow Republicans for echoing former President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. He has expressed doubts that Republicans have found any evidence that President Joe Biden has committed an impeachable offense.
Most recently, Buck broke with his party and was one of three Republicans who voted against the impeachment of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
House Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters he was caught off guard by the announcement, saying, "I was surprised by Ken's announcement. I look forward to talking to him about that." He said he did not know about Buck's early exit next week: "I did not know."
There have been many departures in Congress, but this one will affect controversial Rep. Lauren Boebert. She could even be forced to resign.
According to the state's law, the Governor is required to schedule a special election if a vacancy in the congressional delegation occurs more than 90 days before the general election. With Ken Buck resigning next week, that puts her in a bind. That makes me so happy.
I'll bet he did this on purpose, to force her out or force her to resign her current seat.
And Buck's tweet from March 4, 2022.
UPDATE: (Karoli)
In this interview with CNN's Dana Bash, Buck explains that he's not at all happy with how candidates are selected or the electoral process right now and he wants to get involved in that process for 2024, though it would seem to be a little late for that. This may be how he does it -- by knocking Boebert out of the ring before the bell.
