another one bites the dust

Trump celebrates retirement of GOP lawmaker who voted to impeach him: '4 down and 6 to go'

In an almost comically brief statement, former President Donald Trump on Tuesday celebrated Rep. Fred Upton's (R-Mich.) newly-announced decision to retire from Congress, issuing a sarcastic homage because Upton was one of 10 GOP representatives who voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

"UPTON QUITS!" Trump wrote in his missive. "Four down and six to go. Others losing badly, who's next?"

Upton, 68, is now the fourth pro-impeachment Republican lawmaker to announce his retirement from the House ahead of the 2022 midterms, the others being Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, and John Katko of New York, reports The New York Times.

Upton's decision arrives in the wake of "significantly redrawn" district lines and a competitive primary race, the Times writes. Trump endorsed his opponent, Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), last month.

"This is it for me," the lawmaker said Tuesday in an emotional speech on the House floor. "Hopefully civility and bipartisanship versus discord can rule and not rue the day."

Upton has worked as a congressman for over three decades.