Thus far, 43 House members and eight senators have announced that they won’t be seeking another term but they’ll finish out this one. Additionally, eight House members and two Senators have left their seats early due to factors including retirement, death, and expulsion. Overall, these departures are generally in line with past trends. The number of House retirements this cycle — people who will complete their term but won’t run for reelection — is slightly lower than in 2022 and 2018, but higher than 2020, according to Ballotpedia. The figure in the Senate, meanwhile, is slightly higher this year compared to those three years. If these retirements continue at this pace, it’s possible the total number this cycle will exceed past records. “I think it’s the next three people that leave that they’re going to be worried about,” Buck told Axios regarding his colleagues’ concerns about his departure. Of the lawmakers retiring or leaving early, there are also patterns in the types of Congress members who are choosing to do so. In the House, several Republicans who’ve announced retirements or resignations are longtime lawmakers like Buck known for adhering to congressional norms and traditions rather than the more disruptive tactics of the far right. Some of the GOP retirees in both chambers have expressed concerns about the increasingly Trump-centric and partisan direction their party is taking. And multiple lawmakers who are retiring have cited general congressional dysfunction, from difficulty passing major legislation to petty infighting, as a central reason for their departure.
