Buck had said in November that he would not seek reelection to another term, but his announcement Tuesday that he would depart Congress so soon was a surprise.
Once Buck departs, Republicans will outnumber Democrats 218 to 213 in the House. That means Republicans can afford to lose only two votes to pass legislation along party lines when everyone is attending and voting.
Buck’s resignation will create a vacancy in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, which he has represented since 2015. The district covers much of the eastern half of the state and favors Republicans.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican who currently represents the more competitive 3rd District, announced in December that she would seek reelection in the 4th District. Former president Donald Trump recently endorsed her for the new district, but she still faces several other Republicans in the primary.
Buck has clashed with the majority of the Republican conference in recent months, notably for opposing his party’s launch of an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. In a September op-ed for The Washington Post, Buck criticized the inquiry as one that relied “on an imagined history.”
Buck was also one of eight Republican lawmakers who voted with Democrats to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from the speakership.
In announcing his retirement from Congress last year, Buck expressed disappointment that many fellow Republicans continue to push the “big lie” that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
“Our nation is on a collision course with reality, and a steadfast commitment to truth, even uncomfortable truths, is the only way forward,” Buck said then. “Too many Republican leaders are lying to America.”
Buck also cited Republicans’ downplaying the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, in which a pro-Trump mob sought to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s electoral win, as well as the GOP’s claims that the ensuing prosecutions amounted to a weaponization of the justice system.
“These insidious narratives breed widespread cynicism and erode Americans’ confidence in the rule of law,” Buck said. “It is impossible for the Republican Party to confront our problems and offer a course correction for the future while being obsessively fixated on retribution and vengeance for contrived injustices of the past.”
Before arriving in Congress, Buck chaired the Colorado GOP and was a district attorney in the state.
