Departure season descends on Congress
Retirement toasts are on the menu around Capitol Hill.
On Thursday, four members of Congress announced their plans to leave their posts or had their exit confirmed to POLITICO, adding to the dozen-plus legislators who have said they will depart elected office in 2024. More are almost certainly in the pipeline.
The exits come as this year’s legislative calendar approaches its final stretch and as filing deadlines to run for office next year swing around, squeezing out those who aren’t quite willing to stick around for more Hill fights or who have their eyes set on different sights.
The flurry of departures also arrives as expected close battles between Democrats and Republicans to take control of both chambers of Congress approach in 2024 — Republicans narrowly hold the House, 221-212, while Democrats and allied independents have a narrow majority of 51 seats in the upper chamber. Across the country, those fights will play out against the backdrop of a historic presidential contest between an unpopular Democratic incumbent and a similarly unliked Republican former president, all as
