Republican Rep. Ken Buck to leave Congress next week, narrowing GOP’s slim majority

DENVER (AP) — Republican Rep. Ken Buck said Tuesday that he’ll resign next week, narrowing his party’s razor-thin House majority and potentially throwing an obstacle in the way of Rep. Lauren Boebert’s effort to succeed him.

Buck, a staunch conservative who already declined to run for reelection as he became increasingly critical of his party’s handling of former President Donald Trump, made his surprise announcement in the midst of the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents.

During an appearance on CNN, Buck lamented that he hadn’t been able to ask a question in the hearing yet even though he is the third-ranking Republican on the committee.

“A lot of this is personal. That’s the problem,” Buck said. “Instead of having decorum — instead of acting in a professional manner — this place has really devolved into this bickering and nonsense,” he said, adding that this was the worst of his nine years in Congress.

Buck’s March 22 departure will trigger a special election to serve the remainder of his term. Under Colorado law, that must happen within 85 to 100 days — or right around the June 25 Republican primary to run in the November race to serve a full term.

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