Outgoing House Armed Services Chariman Buck McKeon (R-CA) partially blamed the tea party for his decision to retire from Congress.
McKeon, at a press conference formally announcing his reported retirement on Thursday, said that about 80 members of the House GOP caucus identifying as tea partiers contributed to his decision to retire.
“That was just one issue,” McKeon said according to Defense News. “I can’t say it was not part of it because it has been a frustrating year. Not so much for us but for our leadership.”
The outgoing congressman said that too often in the last few years House Republican leadership came to their caucus with a certain plan on legislation that was eventually “rejected” by tea partiers because “it wasn’t good enough.”
“I think every member of our conference needs to look at themselves and re-evaluate what they were sent here to do,” McKeon added.
McKeon said if House Republicans don’t support House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) or other House GOP leaders those members should just run for leadership themselves or “accede to the will of leadership.”
McKeon did, however, also criticize Democrats. He said it’s “harder to get things done” since “people are trying to push the Democratic Party farther to the left.”
