Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) has come to strongly dislike being in Congress. That much was clear by comments he made to reporters after announcing his sudden retirement, which wasn't supposed to occur until the end of his term, and again during an interview with CNN. He said he didn’t want to waste more of his time in a place that “just keeps going downhill.” Those sentiments come after the lawmaker in recent years has broken with Republicans on some key issues, including voting to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker, opposing the impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and on what he called the GOP’s “insidious narratives” about Jan. 6 and the 2020 election.
Just days before his official retirement, the House Freedom Caucus reportedly gave him the boot for not being “with conservatives on several major issues,” blasting the Colorado Republican for “leaving the conference hanging with a historically narrow margin.”
It comes as no surprise, then, that one of his last acts as a member of Congress was to give Republicans the proverbial middle finger.
Rep. Ken Buck (Colo.) became the first GOP member to sign the House Democrats’ aid discharge position on Thursday, just one day before he is set to retire from Congress.
The discharge petition, formally launched earlier this month by House Democrats, is an attempt to force consideration of a Senate-passed $95 million foreign aid package, which includes $60 billion in aid for Ukraine.
The petition, sponsored by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), was up to 188 signatures as of Thursday, according to House clerk records. It requires 218 signatures to force consideration.
Democrats are arguing the discharge petition is the most efficient way to pass aid for Ukraine as funding for the war-torn nation remains stalled amid divisions in Congress.
The Senate’s foreign aid package passed last month by a vote of 70-29, with 22 Republicans voting in support of the legislation. When sent to the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) refused to consider it due to its lack of stricter U.S.-Mexico border provisions.
If the petition receives enough votes, Democrats would be able to sidestep Johnson’s opposition to the Senate package and bring it to the floor, where they predict it would pass with over 300 votes. (The Hill)
In one of his last acts as a Congressman, Ken Buck signed on to the Democrat discharge petition to give Ukraine even more of your money!
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) March 21, 2024
Odd, because I’ve been traveling all around the Fourth District and haven’t yet seen the part that borders on Kyiv.
Makes sense thats he’s…
His signature will remain until his seat is filled, which will likely happen at the end of June.
