US Representative Kevin Brady announces his resignation from Congress

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, announced Wednesday morning that this is his last term serving in the U.S. House.

Brady, who was first elected in 1996, is one of the most senior members of the Texas delegation and a powerful player in the House Republican Conference. The announcement was widely expected because he faces a term limit in his role as the Republican on the House Committee on Housekeeping, which enacts tax legislation.

“I’m retiring as your Member of Congress. This term, my 13th, will be my last,” he announced during remarks during the Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Outlook Conference. “I originally decided to give my voters the representation you deserve, the efficiency you want and the economic freedom you need. I hope I have delivered it.”

Brady is the second member of Congress in Texas to announce that this will be his last term. Last month, Democratic U.S. Representative Philemon Vela of Brownsville announced his own resignation.

“Is it because I lost confidence in a partisan Congress and the political system? Absolutely not,” Brady said. “I work with some of the most dedicated people in the country – talented, hardworking and serious about their responsibilities – in both parties. And after 25 years in the Capitol in the country, I have not seen any problem that we can not solve or pass. not one, especially not when we combine our ideas and our best intentions.

‘As you may not know, because the Republicans of the House committee leaders are limited to six years, I will not be able to chair the Manners and Resources Committee in the next session when the Republicans regain the majority. Yes, some.

“But as I see it, we ensure that the time constraints of the committee leader have the legislators who work hard and who work one day have the opportunity to give guidance, to bring new, new ideas to each committee. In my opinion, this is a good thing. “

Brady, a South Dakota native, has run the local business chamber in Montgomery County for nearly two decades. He ran for the seat in the Texas House in 1990 and won there and came to Congress in 1996.

During his time on Capitol Hill, Brady had no qualms about participating in partisan battles, but he mostly behaved with a sunny disposition. So much so that, after successfully running for Ways and Means as chairman of his first bid, the man who won the hammer – the future speaker of the House, Paul Ryan – threw his support behind Brady during Brady’s second and successful run in 2015.

The pinnacle of Brady’s career came at the end of 2017 when he came to the forefront of successful Republican pressure to drastically reduce taxes. The victory came after Republicans failed to deploy former President Barack Obama’s health care law in 2010.

The tax reform was the party’s most important legislative achievement in the Trump era, but it is also expected to increase the federal deficit.

Brady was also a match in the baseball team of Congress. Brady left the last morning practice of the GOP team a few minutes early in 2017 and a shooter who injured his closest friend and roommate, then Huismeer whip Steve Scalise.

Brady’s retirement will give a scramble to replace him.

The population center of his district is Montgomery County, a powerful Republican stronghold in the northern suburbs of Houston. In its current form, the 8th District extends north into the Piney Woods. This is likely to bring about some changes in this year’s redistribution round.

However, it is difficult to see any scenario in which this seat becomes a competitive area for Democrats. Brady never won re-election with less than 59% of the vote, and he has regularly won by 50 percentage points in recent cycles. In 2020, then-President Donald Trump carried the 8th District by a margin of 42 points over future President Joe Biden.

Brady’s retirement underscores a decline in Republican influence in the Texas House and the inevitable rebuilding phase the Texas GOP delegation is undergoing.

Just five years ago, seven Republicans in Texas ran house committees. Most have retired. Rep. Michael McCaul was limited to his position as chairman of the Home Security Committee, but is now the top Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

U.S. Representative Pete Sessions led the House Rules Committee, but lost the 2018 re-election. He has since returned to Congress in another district, but currently remains a member of parliament.

With Democrats ruling the U.S. House, there is one current Texas chairman. Rep Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, chairs the Home Science, Space and Technology Committee.

Should the Republicans take power in the House in 2022, U.S. Representative Kay Granger of Fort Worth could be appointed to chair the House Compensation Committee.

As for Brady, he said he remains optimistic about the country’s future.

“Eventually, I will leave Congress as I enter it, with the absolute conviction that we are a remarkable nation: the greatest in history,” he said. “Despite what the media and social media bombard you with every day, we are not the hateful, racist, divided nation we are struggling with. They are dead wrong. Eliminate all that noise and you will hear the true heartbeat of America. . ‘

Republicans responded with praise and sadness.

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy said on Wednesday that Brady is “the ‘lucky fighter’ of conservative champions such as Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp. same without him. ‘