CSPAN
Republican Retreat a Complete Flop as Less Than 50% of the Conference Attends
It's not a good time to be a Republican member of the House of Representatives, and nothing bears that out more clearly than the extremely lackluster attendance at the conference's annual retreat held this week. Less than 100 of the 219 House Republicans RSVP'd to the event in West Virginia.
Prominent Republicans such as Matt Gaetz, Nancy Mace, Tim Burchett, Mark Green and many others will not be in attendance according to CNN. The event's keynote speaker, Fox Analyst Larry Kudlow, dropped out at the last minute.
Many offered excuses, such as Mace who is appearing on Bill Maher's program this week, and Gaetz who is in Texas campaigning for Brandon Herrera, a far-right primary challenger to GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales. Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota told CNN, "No way, I have to run for governor." Tim Burchett of Tennessee said, "I don’t retreat, I move forward! I got a farm to run."
Others said the choice of venue in West Virginia killed the vibe for a Party used to cutting loose in Florida, the usual spot for the retreat. Speaker Johnson said he chose The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia because it was more "family friendly."
Privately, many members said they would not be attending because of divisions within the conference. Members told USA Today they were "harboring frustration and exhaustion at the infighting that has locked down the party’s ability to govern." One lawmaker said "everybody's tired" of the constant bickering since the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Rep. Eli Crane called the gathering "not productive."
Another anonymous member told USA Today the MAGA faction of the party "is wearing everyone out."
Members of Republican leadership expressed frustration at Mike Johnson last month for turning their leadership meeting into a bible study of sorts, with fully one third of the session devoted to Johnson's religious sermonizing, rather than addressing the main topic at hand, which was expanding the House Majority.
Rep. Ken Buck announced on Tuesday that he would be resigning from the House at the end of next week, instead of at the end of the year as he originally promised. Buck, who announced he was moving up his resignation during a break of the House Judiciary Committee testimony of Special Counsel Robert Hur, told CNN's Dana Bash that it was the worst time to be in Congress in 50 years.
"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," Buck said. "But I'm leaving because I think there's a job to do out there. This place has just devolved into this bickering and nonsense and not really doing the job for the American people."
Buck's early resignation will drop the GOP House majority to a single seat. Buck hinted that as many as three more Republican members were thinking of retiring.
