Key House Republican suddenly heads for the exit door
On Tuesday, Palmer Report pointed out that five House Republicans had abruptly announced their retirement in the past two weeks. None of them had any commonality as far as age, region, or scandal – suggesting that they were each making this decision due to larger external forces. Now they’ve been joined by a sixth Republican, and this time it’s someone you’ve heard of.
GOP Congressman Will Hurd of Texas has been the rare somewhat moderate House Republican over the past few years. He’s pro-immigration, and he’s called out Donald Trump a number of times. Now, Hurd is suddenly announcing his retirement, tweeting “I have made the decision to not seek reelection for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas in order to pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress to solve problems at the nexus between technology and national security.”
If Will Hurd’s retirement were happening in isolation, we’d be inclined to assume that the reason for it had something to do with him specifically. But because he’s the sixth House Republican to head for the exit door in the past two weeks, this can’t be a coincidence. There are a few possibilities to consider.
One is that these House Republicans simply don’t like their odds of getting reelected in 2020, as Donald Trump continues to make the GOP more radioactive. Another is that with the odds of a House impeachment vote against Trump growing, these House Republicans are worried that they’ll be screwed no matter what, whether they vote yes or no. Another possibility could be that the GOP knows a major Trump scandal is finally about to explode, and that it could take the entire party down.
