Republican Colorado Rep. Ken Buck announced on Tuesday that he will be departing from Congress sooner than he previously indicated.
Buck decided in early November that he wouldn’t seek another term in the lower chamber, and would retire following the 2024 election. The House Freedom Caucus member, who frequently broke from his party, announced on X that he will be leaving by the end of next week, bringing the Republicans’ already slim majority to two seats.
“It has been an honor to serve the people of Colorado’s 4th District in Congress for the past 9 years. I want to thank them for their support and encouragement throughout the years,” Buck wrote. “Today, I am announcing that I will depart Congress at the end of next week. I look forward to staying involved in our political process, as well as spending more time in Colorado and with my family.”
Buck has been in Congress since 2015, and was handily reelected in the red district each cycle. The congressman serves on the House Judiciary Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law, the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship and the Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific and Western Hemisphere.
The congressman was one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust former House GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy in early October, along with Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Eli Crane of Arizona, Bob Good of Virginia, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Matt Rosendale of Montana and Nancy Mace of South Carolina.
Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert is the frontrunner to replace Buck among a large field of GOP hopefuls. The congresswoman currently represents Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, but she decided to run in a friendlier environment across the state in December after a tumultuous year in her personal life.
