Texas GOP Rep. Kevin Brady announces retirement

Texas Rep. Kevin Brady, a long-serving lawmaker and top Republican on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, announced on Wednesday he is retiring at the end of his term.

“I have an announcement I can’t think of a better place to make it than right here at the chamber I led many years ago. … So, I am retiring as your congressman,” Brady said during The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Outlook Conference that was streamed on Facebook. “This term, my 13th, will be my last. You know I set out originally to give you, my constituents, the representation you deserve, the effectiveness you want and the economic freedom you need. I hope I delivered on that,” he said.

Brady, who was elected to Congress in 1996 and represents the Lone Star State’s 8th District, is the eighth House lawmaker to announce they would not seek reelection at the end of their term, including five House Republicans.

Prior to Congress, Brady served six years in the Texas House of Representatives and was a Chamber of Commerce executive for 18 years. In 2015, he replaced Rep. Paul Ryan as chairman of the Ways and Means committee when he became House speaker and was instrumental in the 2017 tax cut bill.

The congressman said his departure was not because he has “lost faith in a partisan Congress and the political system.”

“I work with some of the most dedicated people in the world. They are talented. They are hardworking. They’re serious about their responsibilities — in both parties — and after 25 years in the nation’s Capital, I haven’t yet seen a problem we can’t solve or move past,” he said.

He also dismissed another potential reason for his departure: former President Donald Trump.

“Given the times, I’m sure someone will say it’s Trump’s fault, that’s how everything works in Washington. Nonsense.” he said. “Look, I’m proud to have worked with the President and often with lawmakers of both parties.”

Brady also noted that the GOP puts term limits on its members for chairing committees, so if Republicans were to take back the House in the 2022 midterm elections, he would not be allowed to chair the Ways and Means Committee, which he said did factor into his decision not to seek reelection, “some.”