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Peter King, Veteran New York Republican in House, Announces He Will Retire Peter King, Veteran New York Republican in House, Announces He Will Retire
(about 2 hours later)
WASHINGTON — Representative Peter T. King, the longest-serving Republican in New York’s congressional delegation, said on Monday that he would retire, joining a growing exodus of Republicans from Congress ahead of the 2020 elections.WASHINGTON — Representative Peter T. King, the longest-serving Republican in New York’s congressional delegation, said on Monday that he would retire, joining a growing exodus of Republicans from Congress ahead of the 2020 elections.
Mr. King, who is currently serving his 14th term in the House, said in a statement that his decision was primarily motivated by the desire to end the weekly commute to Washington after nearly three decades and have “more flexibility” to spend time with his children and grandchildren.Mr. King, who is currently serving his 14th term in the House, said in a statement that his decision was primarily motivated by the desire to end the weekly commute to Washington after nearly three decades and have “more flexibility” to spend time with his children and grandchildren.
“This was not an easy decision,” Mr. King said. “I intend to remain in Seaford, be active politically and look forward to seeing what opportunities and challenges await me in this next chapter of a very fortunate life.” But in an interview, Mr. King conceded that the toxic political environment in Washington and the uncertainties of a coming impeachment proceeding against President Trump had underscored his sense that it was time to leave.
But the exit of Mr. King, 75, comes as a growing number of Republicans have decided to retire rather than seek re-election as they eye the grim political realities for their party, including an uphill slog to win back the House in next year’s election and the prospect of sharing a ticket with an unpopular president. “Something was building for a while,” Mr. King said. The difficulties of coordinating his Thanksgiving and Christmas travel plans with family amid the unknowns of the impeachment battle, he said, “somehow became like a metaphor” fueling his decision.
Mr. King is also the latest in a series of seasoned moderate lawmakers to decide to depart the House, a trend that will leave the next Congress with less expertise and experience, and with fewer members who can remember a time when they reached across party lines to enact bipartisan legislation. He built a reputation as one of the more moderate members of the Republican conference, but frequently took a hard line on immigration issues.
Mr. King is also the third New York lawmaker to announce his departure at the end of the 116th Congress, following two veteran Democrats, Representative José E. Serrano, the nation’s longest-tenured Hispanic congressman, and Representative Nita M. Lowey, the chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee. (Representative Chris Collins, the fourth-term Republican who pleaded guilty to federal securities fraud charges, already departed the chamber earlier this year.) The exit of Mr. King, 75, comes as a growing number of Republicans have decided to retire rather than seek re-election as they eye the grim political realities for their party, including an uphill slog to win back the House in next year’s election and the prospect of sharing a ticket with an unpopular president. The dilemma is particularly acute for Republicans in suburban districts, where voters have been alienated by Mr. Trump’s rhetoric and his positions.
In his statement announcing his departure, Mr. King, a former chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, promoted his work after the Sept. 11 attacks, his efforts to lead the storm recovery after Hurricane Sandy and his work with President Bill Clinton to negotiate the Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland. Mr. King, who represents parts of Nassau County and Suffolk County as part of New York’s second congressional district, said none of those concerns influenced his decision, pointing to favorable polling numbers and a sizable war chest. More persuasive, he said, was his daughter’s recent move to North Carolina, and a desire to give New York Republicans plenty of time to find a replacement candidate ahead of primary in April.
But he emphasized that he intends to vote against any articles of impeachment brought against President Trump, and to support his re-election bid, as Republicans seek to prevent any defections in the coming weeks. “I think it’s gotten too toxic,” Mr. King, a boxer, acknowledged, “but once I’m in the arena, I enjoy the battle.”
“My time in Congress has been an extraordinary experience,” Mr. King said, reflecting on his childhood in Sunnyside and work as a college student at Manhattan’s West Side Railway Terminal. “I intend to remain in Seaford, be active politically and look forward to seeing what opportunities and challenges await me in this next chapter of a very fortunate life.” He said he called Mr. Trump on Sunday to inform him of his decision, assuring the president that he would vote against articles of impeachment and support his re-election bid, as Republicans seek to prevent any defections in the coming weeks. Mr. Trump, Mr. King said, asked him to reconsider retirement, but ultimately understood his decision.
“We can’t allow impeachment to become a political issue, like a tax bill or a highway bill,” Mr. King said, recalling his vote against impeachment articles against President Bill Clinton. “My concern right now is that it’s become part of the political landscape now.”
“When the word ‘impeachment’ was used, there was a quiver, a hesitation — just using the word just shook people up,” he added. “And now there’s none of that.”
Mr. King is also the latest in a series of seasoned moderate lawmakers to decide to depart the House, a trend that will leave the next Congress with less expertise and experience, and with fewer members who can remember a time when they reached across party lines to enact bipartisan legislation. He singled out other members of the New York delegation — Representatives Elise Stefanik and John Katko, both Republicans, and Tom Suozzi, a Democrat — as members he would hope would carry on that bipartisan work.
Mr. King built a reputation as one of the more moderate members of the Republican conference, but frequently took a hard line on immigration issues.
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, said that Mr. King “stood head & shoulders above everyone else.”
“He’s been principled & never let others push him away from his principles,” Mr. Schumer wrote on Twitter. “He’s fiercely loved America, Long Island, and his Irish heritage and left a lasting mark on all 3.”
Mr. King is the third New York lawmaker to announce his departure at the end of the 116th Congress, following two veteran Democrats, Representative José E. Serrano, the nation’s longest-tenured Hispanic congressman, and Representative Nita M. Lowey, the chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee. (Representative Chris Collins, the fourth-term Republican who pleaded guilty to federal securities fraud charges, already departed the chamber earlier this year.)
Sarah Chamberlain, the president and chief executive of the Republican Main Street Partnership, a group of centrists that says it represents the “governing wing” of the party, said that Mr. King served as “a stalwart for pragmatism, collaboration and, above all, integrity.”
In his statement announcing his departure, Mr. King, a former chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, promoted his work after the Sept. 11 attacks, his efforts to lead the storm recovery after Hurricane Sandy and his work with Mr. Clinton to negotiate the Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland. Just this year, Mr. King also noted, Congress finally approved legislation that would care permanently for those who have grown deathly ill from the toxins of the rubble at the World Trade Center in Manhattan.
Mr. King, who also reflected on his childhood in Sunnyside and his work as a college student at Manhattan’s West Side Railway Terminal, vowed to remain politically active after his retirement — just not in the halls of Congress.
“I’m sure the next time something really dramatic happens, I’m going to wait for reporters to call and to go down to Washington,” Mr. King said. “But nobody will call, and I will have nowhere to go.”
“That’s what I’m going to miss," he added, “being in the arena and being able to get things done, instead of just talking about it.”