Michigan Republican Congressman Fred Upton introduced Tuesday he will not be looking for reelection in November, turning into the fourth Home Republican who voted for former President Trump's impeachment to retire this midterm election cycle.
Because of his state's redistricting, the 68-year-old Upton would have been drawn right into a race that might have pitted him towards one other incumbent, fellow Republican Congressman Invoice Huizenga.
In remarks on the Home ground, Upton, who has represented his southwest Michigan district since 1993, highlighted his moments of bipartisanship.
"I've labored [with] seven administrations, seven Home audio system. None of them would name me a rubber stamp," he mentioned. "If it is good coverage for Michigan, it is adequate for all of us."
A vice chair of the bipartisan Home Drawback Solvers caucus,Upton additionally fondly recalled journeys he had taken across the state with Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell.
"We've got been hitting the highway to push for civility. Hopefully civility and bipartisanship versus discord can rule — not rue — the day," he mentioned.
After Upton spoke, Dingell praised him as a "devoted public servant" for his district and the state.
"To him, bipartisan and compromise aren't forbidden phrases," she mentioned. "Whereas we might not have discovered concord on each challenge, Fred and I at all times managed to disagree with out vitriolic rhetoric and mean-spirited language."
Upton served as chair of the Home Vitality and Commerce Committee and labored within the Workplace of Administration and Finances throughout President Ronald Reagan's administration.
The Michigan congressman was by no means a Trump ally and declined to help his presidential bid in 2016. In asserting his resolution to vote for Trump's second impeachment, Upton mentioned that Congress "should maintain President Trump to account and ship the clear message that our nation can't and won't tolerate any effort by any President to impede the peaceable switch of energy from one President to the following."
Along with his impeachment vote after the January 6 assaults on the capitol, Upton was one in every of a handful of Republicans to vote for President Biden's infrastructure plan. In his speech, he referred to as it a "actual trustworthy to goodness" invoice and alluded to a majority of Republicans voting towards it.
"[It] handed 69 to 30 within the Senate however then hit the rocks right here within the Home, barely surviving Trump's opposition — regardless of his name for a proposal twice as costly with no pay-fors," he mentioned.
Trump had endorsed Huizenga towards Upton after the state accomplished its redistricting course of. He alluded to Upton's potential retirement throughout a fundraiser in March for John Gibbs, a Republican challenger to Congressman Peter Meijer of Michigan. Meijer had additionally voted to question Trump.
"I used to be simply telling John, the excellent news is six out of the ten [House Republicans] are gone or successfully gone," Trump mentioned in the course of the fundraiser at Mar-A-Lago.
The opposite retiring Home Republicans who voted for Trump's impeachment embrace representatives John Katko of New York, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio.
Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Tom Rice of South Carolina, Peter Meijer of Michigan, David Valadao of California, and Jamie Herrera-Beutler and Dan Newhouse of Washington are the remaining pro-impeachment Republicans working for re-election.
Home Republican Whip Steve Scalise believed redistricting was the principle consider Upton's resolution to retire, since it could have compelled a matchup towards a fellow Republican congressman.
"Clearly, for those who look, redistricting had rather a lot to do with that. As a result of we have got a number of races throughout the nation the place two Republicans have been pitted towards one another," Scalise mentioned. "This was a choice he needed to make trying on the dynamics of a member-on-member race, and it is unlucky we have got a number of of them."
There are two different Republican vs. Republican matchups which have arisen due to redistricting: Alex Mooney versus David McKinley in West Virginia and Rodney Davis versus Mary Miller in Illinois.
In his closing remarks, Upton seemed ahead to what comes subsequent for him.
"Somebody requested my spouse Amy, 'What could be the following chapter?' She mentioned, 'They usually lived fortunately ever after.' Certainly we are going to," Upton mentioned.
Rebecca Kaplan contributed reporting.