Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the top-ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, on Wednesday announced he will retire at the end of his current term, Politico reported.
Brady, who has served in Congress since 1996, cited the GOP’s internal term limits which will prevent him from continuing as the highest-ranking Republican on the panel, where he has been the GOP leader for six years.
“I am retiring as your Congressman. This term, my 13th, will be my last,” he said at the Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Outlook Conference in his district, which is located just north of Houston. “I set out originally to give my constituents the representation you deserve, the effectiveness you want and the economic freedom you need. I hope I delivered.
“Is this because I’ve lost faith in a partisan Congress and the political system? Absolutely not. I work with some of the most dedicated people in the nation — talented, hard-working and serious about their responsibilities — in both parties. And after 25 years in the nation’s Capitol, I haven’t yet seen a problem we can’t solve or move past. Not one. Especially when we put our ideas and our best intentions together.”
Ryan then mentioned that House Republicans limit committee leaders to 6-year terms,
“I won’t be able to chair the Ways and Means Committee in the next session when Republicans win back the majority. Did that factor into that decision? Yeah, some,” he said.
“But as I see it, our committee leader term limits ensure lawmakers who work hard and who work effectively someday have the opportunity to lead, to bring fresh, new ideas to every committee we have. In my view, it’s a good thing.”
He went on to say that “anytime you retire in Washington, D.C., some are eager to assign a motive. Given the times, I’m sure some will say, ‘It’s [former President Donald] Trump’s fault,'” which he dismissed as “nonsense.”
Brady said he was “proud to have worked with the president and lawmakers from both parties to redesign America’s broken tax code, reform the IRS, pass the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, reform America’s retirement system, end the unfair Obamacare individual mandate and its harmful taxes and sign into law a historic national ban on surprise medical bills.”
House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal, D-Mass., said in a statement that Brady’s retirement will be “a loss for both the Ways and Means Committee and Congress.”
“Brady and I have been able to overcome ideological differences time and time again to partner on behalf of the American people,” Neal said.
Source: Newmax
