Pelosi: GOP retirements indicate they’ll be in the minority, with Democrat in the White House

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said a wave of retirements among GOP lawmakers indicates Republicans will be relegated to the minority for at least another term after the 2020 election. 

“I think it’s an indication that Republicans know that they’ll probably be serving in the minority in the next Congress and most likely with a Democrat in the White House,” she told C-SPAN of the 15 retirements so far. “So I think maybe they think it’s time to spend more time with their families.” 

C-SPAN interview with @SpeakerPelosi – 8pm ET on C-SPAN https://t.co/09rs7IHKYn pic.twitter.com/WSTRRerU3V

— CSPAN (@cspan) September 13, 2019

While most of the retirements have been in ruby red congressional districts that should be easy for the GOP to hold, others have been particularly painful for the House Republican delegation. Among others, the party is losing Rep. Will Hurd (Texas), the only black Republican in the House, and Reps. Susan Brooks (Ind.) and Martha Roby (Ala.), two of the GOP’s 13 female lawmakers.

{mosads}Observers believe the acrimonious atmosphere in Congress’ lower chamber and frustration with being in the minority are the chief factors in the slate of retirements.

“The most likely outcome is a status quo election for the House. And that certainly influences people’s decision [to retire], whether they think they can regain the majority or not,” former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), one of two dozen Republicans who was unseated during the 2018 midterms, told The Hill last week. “For sure, some of those members who retired, [staying in the minority] was a factor in their thinking.”

“The retirements are unnerving,” added Bill Miller, a GOP lobbyist and consultant based in Austin, Texas. “The reality is that life in the minority is just not as appealing, but at the same time, in some of these cases, there is a little bit of fear of losing built into the decisions not to run again.”

Democrats, who had been in the minority since they lost 63 seats in the 2010 Tea Party wave, won back the majority in last year’s midterm elections.