One of the most powerful Republicans in Congress just announced he's retiring
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) will retire at the end of this congressional term, he announced Monday. Frelinghuysen has served as the representative for New Jersey's 11th congressional district since 1995 and was appointed to the chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee in 2017. He was one of only 12 House Republicans to vote against the GOP's tax bill, citing the negative impact it would have on his New Jersey constituents.
Frelinghuysen's retirement represents another opportunity for the Democratic Party to win back seats in the House in this year's midterm elections. NBC News' Alex Seitz-Wald noted on Twitter that President Trump only won Frelinghuysen's district by one percentage point in 2016. Even before Frelinghuysen announced his retirement, the race was expected to be competitive in the midterms.
Frelinghuysen is one of several prominent Republican lawmakers — among them Reps. Darrell Issa (Calif.), Charlie Dent (Pa.), and Bob Goodlatte (Va.), as well as Sens. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Orrin Hatch (Utah), and Bob Corker (Tenn.) — to decide to call it quits rather than run for re-election in 2018.
Subscribe to 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.
In a statement, Frelinghuysen said that he would devote "all of [his] energies" to passing appropriations bills for fiscal years 2018 and 2019. He also lauded the virtues of public service, writing that it "is an incredible way to turn your convictions into something that serves the greater good." Read his full statement below. Kelly O'Meara Morales
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of Christmas
Cartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
Sudoku medium: December 22, 2024
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Putin says Russia isn't weakened by Syria setback
Speed Read Russia had been one of the key backers of Syria's ousted Assad regime
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Georgia DA Fani Willis removed from Trump case
Speed Read Willis had been prosecuting the election interference case against the president-elect
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Democrats blame 'President Musk' for looming shutdown
Speed Read The House of Representatives rejected a spending package that would've funding the government into 2025
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump, Musk sink spending bill, teeing up shutdown
Speed Read House Republicans abandoned the bill at the behest of the two men
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Congress reaches spending deal to avert shutdown
Speed Read The bill would fund the government through March 14, 2025
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Luigi Mangione charged with murder, terrorism
Speed Read Magnione is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ex-FBI informant pleads guilty to lying about Bidens
Speed Read Alexander Smirnov claimed that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter were involved in a bribery scheme with Ukrainian energy company Burisma
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
South Korea impeaches president, eyes charges
Speed Read Yoon Suk Yeol faces investigations on potential insurrection and abuse of power charges
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published