One of Trump’s biggest supporters in the House, and the state of Wisconsin, Rep. Sean Duffy has announced that he is resigning.
Rep. Duffy said in a statement, “With much prayer, I have decided that this is the right time for me to take a break from public service in order to be the support my wife, baby and family need right now,” Duffy said in a statement posted to his Facebook page. “It is not an easy decision – because I truly love being your Congressman – but it is the right decision for my family, which is my first love and responsibility.”
While we wish the Duffy family and their upcoming child only the best, from a political point of view, the timing is another sign that Republicans don’t think that they will be winning back the House and that they are fleeing the sinking Trump ship instead of spending at least two more years in the minority.
Charlie Sykes pointed out that Duffy is the Trummpiest Trumpster in Wisconsin:
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Interesting. Duffy is by far the Trumpiest rep from WI… https://t.co/AovpERaaXx
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) August 26, 2019
Duffy’s district has been moving toward solidly Republican, so he wasn’t a member who was worried about losing his seat, necessarily:
Like the neighboring Iron Range and Michigan’s UP, Northern Wisconsin has trended Republican. For Duffy’s district
McCain: 45%
Romney: 51%
Trump: 58%Compared to Repubs’ national %, it went from even to R+4 to R+12. https://t.co/eh0wlj5euj
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) August 26, 2019
The ongoing wave of House Republican retirements is a sign that they don’t think they are going to win back the House. Duffy, like all other politicians who are looking for an excuse to resign, invoked the spending more time with family cliche, but if one of Trump’s biggest supporters can see the writing on the wall, expect the House Republican retirements to escalate over the next year.
Trump may think he is the chosen one, but House Republicans are showing no confidence that he can lead them back to the majority promise land.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
