Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) sat down with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday for her first interview since announcing that she will not seek re-election, telling the conservative pundit that she’s proud of her tenure in the House of Representatives and that she’s “not going silent.”
Bachmann said she’s had a productive career in Congress, despite not one of her sponsored bills or resolutions ever being signed into law.
“I feel like I’ve done a lot in the eight years that I’ve been there. I was a very strong voice taking on my own party. I pushed back on the bailout. I was the champion of repealing Obamacare, and also dealing with this issue of the IRS—I have been involved in that as a former IRS attorney,” Bachmann said. “On issue after issue dealing with the rise of Islamic jihad, I’ve been there. But I think that there’s just a time when you’ve served and then it’s time to move on.”
The 2012 GOP presidential candidate said that her announcement should not be construed as a retirement and that her name may appear on another ballot down the road.
“I’m not retiring. I’m not going silent. I’m not quitting my public involvement,” she said. “In fact, I may run for another public office. That could happen. But for right now, I think I’m going to find a different perch in order to be able to weigh in on these matters. Sometimes you can be more effective on the outside than on the inside. I’ve done everything I possibly could on the inside. But I still intend to be in the fight.”
When asked if she would consider another White House bid, Bachmann said she’s “not taking anything off of the table.”
