Rep. Ken Buck recently joined CNN’s Dana Bash on Tuesday soon and it came following the announcement of his decision to retire from the House effective March 22 via Mediaite.
“I am, yes, I’m resigning my seat and creating a vacancy in my district,” Buck said after Bash welcomed him and noted he had some news.
“Why?” she asked.
“Well, everywhere I go in Colorado, Dana, I hear that people are not happy with Trump and are not happy with Biden. And I think we need to change our electoral laws here. And I have a passion for that. And I’m going to leave and I’m going to find the right organization to join, and I’m going to start working on that issue. We have to have better candidates up and down the ballot, not just president, but Senate, House, local offices. We’ve got to find better ways to elect candidates and bring America together,” Buck replied.
“You already had announced that you were going to not run for reelection. Why leave now and leave a vacancy in an already very narrow majority for your party?” Bash followed up.
“Yeah, because to me, it’s important to get in the mix of this, election cycle and start talking about the issues that people recognize are such a problem right now,” Buck answered, seemingly unbothered by shrinking the GOP’s majority – if only temporarily.
“You know, our, my colleague Melanie Zanona is reporting that, there is such tension among House Republicans that many of them aren’t even going to a retreat. That’s going to happen at the end of this week. Is that tension part of why you’re leaving so abruptly?” Bash pressed.
“I think this place is dysfunctional. For example, I am the third-ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. I haven’t even asked my questions yet. 40, 50 people have gone before me,” Buck replied, noting that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, didn’t honor his seniority at today’s hearing with Robert Hur.
“But that could be personal, with all due respect,” noted Bash.
“It could be personal. But, a lot of this is personal. And that’s the problem. Instead of having decorum instead of, operating in a professional manner, this place has just devolved into this bickering and nonsense and not really doing the job for the American people,” Buck replied.
“How much, of the fact that you are leaving March 22nd, next Friday, how much does that have to do with, the fact that Trump is the presumptive nominee and you’re not exactly a fan?” Bash followed up.
“Well, I don’t think whether he was a nominee or not. I think our system is broken and how we choose candidates, and I want to get involved in that process,” Buck replied.
“Is it really that miserable right now to be, I mean, from the outside, and it doesn’t look that fun from the inside in. Is it that bad that you’re saying, ‘I’m done?’” Bash pressed.
“It is the worst year of the nine years and three months that I’ve been in Congress. And having talked to former members, it’s the worst year in 40, 50 years, to be in Congress. But I’m leaving because I think there’s a job to do out there that I want to go do,” Buck responded.
