There was a political earthquake this afternoon in Washington, D.C., as representative Jeb Hensarling has announced he’s retiring. The Dallas-based rep. will not be running for re-election in 2018.
Hensarling wrote the following in a statement today: “Today I am announcing that I will not seek reelection to the US Congress in 2018. Although service in Congress remains the greatest privilege of my life, I never intended to make it a lifetime commitment, and I have already stayed far longer than I had originally planned.”
Hensarling is a darling of the conservative movement, and played a huge role in the push to end the Export-Import Bank just a few years ago. He chairs the powerful Financial Services Committee, and has a solid conservative rating from many right-leaning organizations.
Rep. Hensarling is just one of a handful of Republicans who won’t be running for re-election in 2018, including Bob Corker and Jeff Flake.
NBC News confirms that Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas is retiring. One more Republican will not run for re-election in 2018.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 31, 2017
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan wished Hensarling well over Twitter:
.@RepHensarling is a true constitutional conservative who has fought tirelessly for all Americans as chairman of @FinancialCmte. pic.twitter.com/bJxkRqkDp8
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) October 31, 2017
Liberals, in their usual fashion, welcomed the announcement by spewing a bunch of hateful bile:
https://twitter.com/bbneda_stan/status/925444873691557888
when will you stand up to Trump? what about your oath of office? he is corrupt and ignoring the real issues that matter to americans!
— Two Alpacas (@RaisesQuestions) October 31, 2017
Jeb Hensarling loves $$ from predatory payday lenders.
— PopcornCat (@BootsCastle) October 31, 2017
For shame.
What do you think about Hensarling retiring? Is this another bad sign for Republicans?
