Colorado House Republican Ken Buck has hinted the GOP could suffer more resignations after announcing he will step down at the end of the week, further shrinking his party's already wafer thin majority in the chamber.
When asked by Axios whether he was coming under pressure from colleagues over his decision to resign, Buck replied: "I think it's the next three people that leave that they're going to be worried about."
Buck's move will reduce the number of House Republicans to 218, against 213 Democrats, at a time when Speaker Mike Johnson is already struggling to impose his authority over the chamber.
Once widely seen as a conservative hardliner, Buck has more recently attracted attention for opposing his colleagues' efforts to impeach President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, Buck said: "It has been an honor to serve the people of Colorado's 4th District in Congress for the past nine years. I want to thank them for their support and encouragement throughout the years.
"Today, I am announcing that I will depart Congress at the end of next week. I look forward to staying involved in our political process, as well as spending more time in Colorado and with my family."
A special election to replace Buck as representative for Colorado's 4th congressional district will be held on June 25.
Speaking to CNN after his announcement, Buck hit out at what he claimed was growing dysfunction in Congress.
He commented: "It is the worst year of the nine years and three months that I've been in Congress. And having talked to former members, it's the worst year in 40, 50 years to be in Congress. But I'm leaving because I think there's a job to do out there that I want to go do.
"This place has just devolved into this bickering and nonsense and not really doing the job for the American people."
When asked whether Donald Trump becoming the Republicans' presumptive presidential candidate influenced his decision to step down, Buck said: "Whether he was the nominee or not, I think our system is broken in how we choose candidates and I want to get involved in that process."
Johnson said he was "surprised" by Buck's announcement and hadn't been informed in advance, though a spokesperson for the Colorado Republican claimed he left a voicemail message stating his intentions 30 minutes before the public announcement.
Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) arrives to the House Chambers on February 6, 2024 in Washington, DC. After announcing his resignation, Buck teased more Republicans could soon be quitting the House as well. Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) arrives to the House Chambers on February 6, 2024 in Washington, DC. After announcing his resignation, Buck teased more Republicans could soon be quitting the House as well. Getty Images
Speaking to NBC News senior political reporter Sahil Kapur, Republican Rep. Pat Fallon described Buck's move as "very surprising. Very disturbing. Very alarming. Very concerning."
Jake Sherman, founder of political website Punchbowl News, posted: "It's amazing to me that Ken Buck resigned effective next week and the speaker of the House and House majority leader seemingly had no idea in advance."
Earlier this month, in an interview with NewsNation, Buck said: "I am not going to lie on behalf of my presidential candidate, on behalf of my party. And I'm very sad that others in my party have taken the position that as long as we get the White House, it doesn't really matter what we say."
Buck's announcement that he will leave the House months earlier than originally planned presents a major challenge to Rep. Lauren Boebert, his fellow Colorado Republican. Boebert was seeking to replace Buck as representative of Colorado's 4th Congressional District at the November election, stepping aside from the state's 3rd Congressional District which she currently represents.
However, the Republican firebrand won't be able to stand in the June special election to replace Buck unless she steps down from her seat.
Posting on X, former GOP congressman Adam Kinzinger said: "By resigning early, Ken Buck is giving an advantage to anyone but Lauren Boebert.
"She cannot run in the special election since she already occupies a seat, so another person will be elected to serve out the term, and it won't be Lauren. Smart."