GOP Rep. Ken Buck Says the Republican Party Has Become a Joke and He’s Getting the F–k Out

Republican lawmaker Ken Buck introduced final November that he wouldn’t search reelection and would go away Congress on the finish of the yr. But apparently his GOP colleagues have turn into so insupportable that he’s determined he can’t waste one other second of his life in Washington and is getting out of there simply as quickly as he can pack up his workplace.

On Tuesday, Buck stated he would go away Congress on the finish of subsequent week slightly than stick out the remaining time on his time period. While the Colorado consultant saved issues cordial in his official assertion, he let it’s recognized how he actually feels in interviews with reporters. Speaking to CNN’s Dana Bash about dysfunction on Capitol Hill, Buck stated, “It is the worst year of the nine years and three months that I’ve been in Congress and having talked to former members, it’s the worst year in 40, 50 years to be in Congress.… This place has just devolved into this bickering and nonsense and not really doing the job for the American people.” Specifically referring to his fellow Republicans, Buck stated, “We’ve taken impeachment, and we’ve made it a social media issue as opposed to a constitutional concept—this place keeps going downhill, and I don’t need to spend more time here.”

Buck has lengthy criticized the House GOP for making an attempt to question Joe Biden and Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas—the latter of whom they simply barely impeached final month—saying his colleagues had no authentic foundation for doing so. In a video saying his retirement in November, he lambasted his colleagues for spreading the lie that the 2020 election was stolen and that January 6 wasn’t a shameful day on this nation’s historical past, saying, “Too many Republican leaders are lying to America, claiming that the 2020 election was stolen, describing January 6 as an unguided tour of the Capitol, and asserting that the ensuing prosecutions are a weaponization of our justice system.”

Buck’s departure will go away the GOP with a razor-thin majority within the House. Given that he determined to flame Republicans on the way in which out the door, you might need anticipated him to present GOP House chief Mike Johnson a heads-up about his plans. And he did! It was only a very, very small heads-up:

Kennedy/Rodgers 2024?

According to The New York Times, it may occur:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has just lately approached the NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the previous Minnesota governor {and professional} wrestler Jesse Ventura about serving as his operating mate on an impartial presidential ticket, and each have welcomed the overtures, two individuals acquainted with the discussions stated. Mr. Kennedy confirmed on Tuesday that the 2 males had been on the high of his checklist. It will not be clear if both has been formally supplied the submit, nonetheless, and Mr. Kennedy remains to be contemplating a shortlist of potential candidates, the individuals acquainted with the discussions stated.