Kay Granger announces she will not seek reelection

Washington (CNN) — House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger of Texas announced Wednesday she will not seek reelection.

“As I announce my decision to not seek re-election, I am encouraged by the next generation of leaders in my district. It’s time for the next generation to step up and take the mantle and be a strong and fierce representative for the people,” Granger said in a statement.

Granger said she will serve out the remainder of her term and “work with our new Speaker and my colleagues to advance our conservative agenda and finish the job I was elected to do.”

She was one of the Republicans who notably voted against Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan in his attempt to clinch the House speakership last month, ultimately leading to Jordan’s failure to win the speaker’s gavel.

Granger became chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee in January following Republicans’ success in taking control of the House.

Granger, 80, was first elected to the House in 1996 and made history as the first Republican woman to represent Texas in the US House of Representatives.

Granger also made history throughout her time in Congress as first Republican woman to head the House Appropriations Committee and the first Republican woman to sit on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

“As the first female Mayor of Fort Worth, first Republican United States Congresswoman from Texas, and the first female Republican Appropriations Chair, I have been able to accomplish more in this life than I could have imagined, and I owe it all to my incredible family, staff, friends, and supporters,” she said.

GOP Rep. Ken Buck, who also repeatedly voted against Jordan for speaker, joined Granger on Wednesday in announcing that he would not seek another term in Congress. His office confirmed to CNN on Wednesday that the Colorado congressman will not run for reelection.

Buck was one of the eight Republicans to vote to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and has consistently been an outspoken critic of his party’s own impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

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