Yet another House Republican has announced their departure from Congress in a fresh blow to President Donald Trump.
Missouri Rep. Sam Graves, the 62-year-old chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, withdrew his reelection bid in the red state’s sixth congressional district on Friday, further threatening the party’s already razor-thin majority.
“After considerable reflection, 2026 will be my final year in Congress,” he wrote in an X post. “This wasn’t an easy decision, but it’s the right one. I believe in making room for the next generation. It’s time to pass the torch and allow a new guard of conservative leaders to step forward and chart a path forward for Missourians.”
Graves first ran for state representative at 27 in 1992. He became a congressman in 2000 and is leaving the chamber after 13 terms.
The powerful Republican told The Wall Street Journal that he decided to bow out of the race earlier this week.
“I think it is time for me to step down,” he said. “I filed for re-election, and I was still kind of evaluating… my next chapter in life, and what that might look like.”
Graves said his decision wasn’t driven by concerns over reelection or the chaotic state of affairs in the House. He plans to seek a private sector role when he retires.
His exit sets up a succession scramble for the seat that he won with nearly 70 percent of the vote in 2024.
Contenders so far include Salem Radio Network host Chris Stigall, who announced that he was running swiftly after the “sudden news” of Graves’ retirement.
Graves joins a growing number of lawmakers—most of whom are Republican—fleeing the House at a record rate under Trump 2.0.
Data from the Brookings Institution showed that 35 House Republicans have announced that they are retiring or seeking higher office, compared to 21 House Democrats. That’s the most departures from the lower chamber in all but two election cycles since 1930. It also marks the highest number of exits in a midterm cycle since 2018, during Trump’s first term, when Republicans lost 41 seats in the House.
Members of Congress have cited a variety of reasons for leaving, from wanting to focus on their families to losing enthusiasm for riding out another grueling campaign.
Others have said they’re leaving to escape the “toxic” work environment under Trump.
New Jersey Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman previously told NBC News that she could no longer bear the idea of serving two more years with Trump in the White House.
“I still would have had Donald Trump as a president,” she said. “And I tell you, that’s just sickening for me to have to deal with.”
When asked why so many of his colleagues are retiring, Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi similarly said Washington has become an unpleasant work environment in recent years.
“Over my 10 years here, I think Donald Trump has helped catalyze a real toxic partisan atmosphere,” he told NBC. “I have not known normal. And I think for anybody who came here expecting something different and then being served up this kind of toxic brew of partisanship and character attacks and name-calling is going to be severely disappointed.”
