House Republicans Bail As More Than 41% Of GOP Has Left Trump

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) became the 101st House Republican to quit or retire on Donald Trump since he took office three years ago.

NBC News reported, “When Trump arrived in the White House in 2017, there were 241 Republicans at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue in the House of Representatives. Today, 100 of them have gone or have announced that they are leaving. That’s 41 percent of that original 241 in the 115th House. To be clear, that’s not congressional seats lost; that’s a measure of actual people, the personalities that once roamed the halls of Congress that aren’t there anymore. They left for a range of reasons. Some left to take administration appointments, some lost, and some just walked away.”

Obama had 88 Democrats leave the House in his first term, but 54 of those departures were election losses. Just 23 came from retirements or resignations. Trump has had 36 election losses and the rest have retired or resigned.

DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, “Republicans know their toxic health care repeal agenda and wholesale embrace of President Trump’s recklessness will guarantee they remain in the minority for years to come. Congressman Peter King’s retirement, from a heavily suburban Long Island district, underlines just how serious Republicans’ problems are in swing districts across this country. New York’s 2nd Congressional District has been a pickup target of ours from day one of this cycle, and we will compete to win it in 2020.â€

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

House Republicans have been saying for months that they are retiring because they think that Trump and the GOP are toast in 2020. When members of the House think that they little chance of winning back the majority, they tend to retire instead of serving another two years in the powerless House minority.

House Republicans are bailing on Trump at a record pace, and the departures are showing no signs of slowing down.

Impeachment is another reason for House Republicans to hop off the Trump train and head for the exits.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Follow Jason Easley on Facebook



Copyright PoliticusUSA LLC 2008-2023