High-ranking GOP Rep. Sensenbrenner announces he's not running for re-election

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

last updated 5 September 2019

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) announced on Wednesday that after serving in Congress for 40 years, he's ready to retire.

Sensenbrenner, who has served as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is the second-most senior House member and the highest-ranking Republican to say he will not seek re-election once the current term is over.

In a statement, the 76-year-old said he has "taken 23,882 votes on the House floor; been the lead sponsor or co-sponsor of 4,299 pieces of legislation; ushered 768 of them through the House for passage, and watched as 217 of them have been signed into law by six different presidents. I think I am leaving this district, our Republican Party, and most important, our country, in a better place than when I began my service."

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More than a dozen Republicans have announced in recent months that they will step down at the end of their terms. Trump won Sensenbrenner's district in 2016 by 20 points, and the GOP is expected to hold onto the seat.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.