Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R) announced Thursday that he would retire rather than seek re-election in 2018. Goodlatte has represented Virginia's sixth congressional district for nearly 25 years, but said that with 2018 coinciding with the end of his chairmanship of the House Judiciary Committee, "this is a natural stepping-off point and an opportunity for me to begin a new chapter of my career."
Goodlatte is but the latest Republican representative to announce he will retire rather than seek re-election in 2018, joining the likes of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.), Rep. Frank LoBiondo (N.J.), and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (Texas). Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) have announced high-profile departures from the upper chamber as well. After Democrats won handily in Tuesday's off-year elections — including a sweep of the top races in Goodlatte's state of Virginia — the party is hoping to carry that momentum into next year's midterms, with the goal of recapturing the House majority.
Goodlatte outlined a list of goals he'd like to achieve before leaving office, including immigration reform and ObamaCare repeal. Read his full statement below. Kimberly Alters
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Starbucks workers are planning their ‘biggest strike’ everThe Explainer The union said 92% of its members voted to strike
-
‘These wouldn’t be playgrounds for billionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The 5 best nuclear war movies of all timeThe Week Recommends ‘A House of Dynamite’ reanimates a dormant cinematic genre for our new age of atomic insecurity
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
