Rep. Ken Buck, one of eight House Republicans who voted to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy last month, announced Wednesday that he would not seek re-election next year — weeks after exclusively telling The Post he was eyeing a job in cable news.
Buck, 64, announced his future plans during a midday interview with MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell.
“I have decided, Andrea, that I am not going to seek re-election,” he said. “I am joining Kay [Granger of Texas] and probably some others in the near future. But I’ve decided that it is time for me to do some other things. I always have been disappointed with our inability in Congress to deal with major issues.
“And I’m also disappointed that the Republican Party continues to, you know, rely on this lie that the 2020 election was stolen, and rely on the January 6th narrative, and the political prisoners from January 6th and other things,” added Buck (R-Colo.)
“If we’re going to solve difficult problems we got to deal with some very unpleasant truths — or lies — and make sure we project to the public what the truth is,” he went on.
In a separate video statement, Buck added that “Americans are rightly concerned about our nation’s future” but claimed Republicans were seeding “insidious narratives [that] breed widespread cynicism and erode Americans confidence in the rule of law.”
“It is impossible for the Republican Party to confront our problems and offer a course correction for the future, while being obsessively fixated on retribution and vengeance for contrived injustices of the past,” he said on X.
“I made a decision to leave Congress because tough votes are being replaced by social media status,” Buck added. “It’s time to stop feeding popular narratives and start addressing the long-term solutions.”
The Colorado Republican was harshly critical of his conference’s decision to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Biden in September, going as far as to author a Washington Post op-ed that declared there was no “smoking gun that connects Joe Biden to his ne’er-do-well son’s corruption.”
Buck claimed to The Post Sept. 19 that the op-ed was published after he had met with House investigators, though he added that he is still unconvinced that President Biden engineered the ouster of a Ukrainian prosecutor investigating a natural gas company where Biden’s son Hunter sat on the board.
During the same interview, Buck said it would be “great” to join CNN as an on-air commentator.
“I am interested in talking to folks at CNN and other news organizations — on the, I don’t want to call them left, but sort of center-left — and having an opportunity to do that full-time or do that as a contributor would be great also,” he said.
Buck later clarified that he had also been in talks with Fox News and Newsmax.
Buck joined Andy Biggs of Arizona, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Eli Crane of Arizona, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Bob Good of Virginia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Matt Rosendale of Montana — along with 208 Democrats to declare the speaker’s office vacant, removing McCarthy from leadership. He is the first of that group to not seek re-election in 2024.
Shortly before Buck’s announcement, Granger said she would not run again to represent Texas’ 12th District, saying it was time “for the next generation to step up.”
“As the first female Mayor of Fort Worth, first Republican United States Congresswoman from Texas, and the first female Republican Appropriations Chair, I have been able to accomplish more in this life than I could have imagined, and I owe it all to my incredible family, staff, friends, and supporters,” the 14-term lawmaker said in a statement.
The 80-year-old House Appropriations Committee chairwoman confirmed that she will serve out the remainder of her term to help Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Republicans “finish the job,” as the lower chamber prepares to pass several government spending bills before funding runs out on Nov. 17.
Both Granger and Buck prevented House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) from being elected speaker last month, voting against him on three successive ballots before getting behind Johnson.
Granger voted instead for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who was nominated by the GOP conference to replace McCarthy, but never received a floor vote.
Buck supported House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) each time, even though he never received an official floor vote, either.
He had expressed concerns about Jordan’s decision to vote against certifying the 2020 election — despite having joined a legal effort himself to overturn presidential results in battleground states.
Johnson was unanimously backed Oct. 25 by his conference to take up the speaker’s gavel in a 220-209 House vote.