The Republicans in the House are planning to leave for their yearly retreat on Wednesday. But this year, some lawmakers are choosing not to go because they are tired and fed up with the fighting within their own party, which has made it impossible for them to rule.
“Everyone is worn out. One Republican in the House, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “I know I’m tired.” The GOP politician said that the fights within their own party that have been going on in the House for the past few months have worn some members down.
Another House Republican who doesn’t plan to go said that they are still angry at ultraconservative lawmakers who are getting in the way of House business and “wearing everyone out” as a result.
Since it’s been “less than six months since everything happened,” the lawmaker said, there are still bad feelings in the Republican conference. He was talking about the firing of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
Most of the time, lawmakers use the retreats to talk about policy, ongoing arguments, and other things. Republicans did vote to get rid of McCarthy, but Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., told USA TODAY that the events are “not productive.”
On Wednesday and Thursday, the conference is set to happen in West Virginia.
Representative Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y., who is running for office in a district that could be very close in the 2024 race, said that he needs to spend time with “family that I never see” and do work for his constituents. He didn’t blame other members for not going to this year’s gathering, though.
“We’ve been here and with each other for a long time.” We’ve gone on vacations!” Molinaro made a half-joke about how lawmakers got so angry during the 10 weeks that Congress was in session last year that they were almost ready to fight.
“This place is a pressure cooker,” said Mike Johnson, R-La., then Speaker of the House.
For what it’s worth, some politicians say that the retreat is happening at a bad time because many of them have elections coming up. Others just have problems with their schedules.
Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., said it’s “pretty tough to get” people’s attention on the weekends. He said that members are on the campaign trail during the week to get ready for the 2024 elections.
“If I had a race, I’d be going home,” said Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., whose June primary is coming up. “Congresspeople are just busy by nature.”
Because the House has been so dysfunctional lately, dozens of officials are also leaving Congress in the next few months. Their main reason for not going to the retreat is that “working on future agendas might not be as interesting,” as Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., put it.
