Longtime GOP Congressman Who Voted to Impeach Trump Opts for Retirement Rather Than Face Primary Battle
Republican Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan has announced his retirement rather than his next election run.
After nearly three decades in Congress, Upton said he will step down after his current term is up, the Detroit Free Press reported.
“Even the best stories have a last chapter,” Upton said when he spoke on the House floor in a surprise announcement. “This is it for me.”
The timing comes as a surprise for some, but many already suspected that Upton would decide against another two-year term after an independent redistricting commission redrew district lines that put him and Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga in the same district, the Free Press reported.
Huizenga was recently endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
Previously, Trump had endorsed Rep. Steve Carra to run against Upton, the Free Press reported. At that point, Upton sounded like he was planning on running again and even ran TV ads in February.
But after the redistricting and Trump switching his endorsement from Carra to Huizenga, Upton announced his retirement.
Upton was one of the Republicans who voted for Trump’s impeachment.
When he endorsed Huizenga, Trump promised he would overthrow Upton and the other nine Republican lawmakers who voted in favor of his impeachment after the Jan. 6, 2021, incursion at the U.S. Capitol.
Upton is the fourth House Republican who previously voted to impeach Trump that has decided to not run again, Axios reported.
Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio and John Katko from New York all previously announced plans to retire.
Upton is also a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus that shares a rare cross-party relationship with President Joe Biden, according to Axios.
The Michigan Republican has also previously boasted of his bipartisan cooperation, including his support of an infrastructure bill that Trump opposed.
Since Upton has been on the Hill since the days of Reagan, he has compared himself to Reagan and said that they both worked on both sides of the aisle to get things done.
“Reagan worked both sides of the aisle to get things done, caring less about who got the credit,” he said, Fox News reported. “And I made a promise that such a principle would be my guiding light. Especially in these days of divided government that is the only way one can actually get legislation enacted.”
“Hopefully civility and bipartisanship versus discord can rule, not rue, the day,” Upton added.
Overall, there has been a spike in Congressmen retiring. Upton is joining many other lawmakers are who exiting Congress, Fox News reported.
He is the 16th Republican to retire or seek another office ahead of the 2022 election. Thirty-one Democrats have also done the same.
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