One of the most powerful Republicans in Congress just announced he's retiring

Rodney Frelinghuysen.
(Image credit: Astrid Riecken/Getty Images)

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.

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Kelly O'Meara Morales

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.