Texas Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling, the powerful chairman of the House financial services committee, announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election in 2018.
Hensarling, who represents Dallas, hails from a Republican-heavy district. His departure may not open an opportunity for Democrats, but it does represent another prominent GOP member of Congress who has chosen to call it quits during the tumultuous early days of the Trump administration.
In an email sent to his supporters, Hensarling said that it was never his intention to make congressional service a career.
“Although service in Congress remains the greatest privilege of my life, I never intended to make it a lifetime commitment, and I have already stayed far longer than I had originally planned,” Hensarling said.
As chairman of the financial services committee, Hensarling is a key player in the ongoing negotiations by Republicans to reform the American tax code. In his statement, he promised that despite his decision to not run for re-election, he has every intention of working to make sure tax reform passes the House.
“Much work remains at the House financial services committee in the areas of housing finance reform, regulatory relief, cybersecurity and capital formation to name just a few,” he said. “Furthermore, important work remains in the Congress as a whole — especially pro-growth tax reform.”
Hensarling, a conservative and former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, is also a key conduit between the GOP caucus and the White House through his close relationship with Vice President Mike Pence. He is at least the 21st Republican member of the House of Representatives to pass on a re-election bid since President Donald Trump has taken office.
