GOP congressman who tried to expel Pelosi says he won't run for reelection

Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-LA) announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection. The deeply conservative congressman made headlines last year when he launched a quixotic effort to expel House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from Congress for opening an impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump.

“This past January, as I traveled on Air Force One to the National Championship game with President Trump, I was humbled when he asked that I consider staying in Congress for another term,” Abraham, who represents Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District, said in a press release. “I thanked him for his leadership and encouragement, and was honest in my reply.”

He noted that he had made the decision “to serve only three terms as a Member of the House” six years earlier, but stated that he would “[support] the President’s agenda for the remainder of my tenure in Congress and in other capacities moving forward.”

A third-term lawmaker and staunch Trump defender, Abraham represents a solidly Republican district in northeastern Louisiana. He ran unsuccessfully for governor last year, failing to advance from the jungle primary. During that race, he attempted to gain attention by filing a resolution to kick Pelosi (D-CA) out of Congress.

“Nancy Pelosi’s vicious crusade against our lawfully-elected President is nothing more than a politically-motivated witch hunt and it must be stopped,” Abraham claimed in October. “She has disgraced the people’s House and weaponized the Speaker’s gavel for her party’s political gain.”

Though Fox News reported at the time that Abraham’s office expected the resolution “to gain traction,” it did not.

As of Thursday, his effort had attracted just three co-sponsors.

Abraham is the 28th member of the House GOP minority to announce he will not seek another term in November. Just nine House Democrats plan to leave the House after this year.

Experts say the wave of retirements is in part attributable to Republican members not liking life in the minority party and the expectation that Democrats will retain a majority for the near future.

House Democrats have significantly out-fundraised their opponents, especially in key swing districts, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee outraised its GOP counterpart by a stunning $40 million last year.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.