More Than 100 Reps Plan to Skip House GOP Retreat Amid Infighting: Report
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Fewer than 100 Republican lawmakers are expected to attend the House GOP retreat this year, privately citing the party’s infighting and the event’s location as reason to be anywhere else on Wednesday and Thursday, CNN reported. The retreat, which is being held at the Greenbriar Resort in West Virginia after years of calling Florida home, also had its keynote speaker, Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow, drop out at the last second. That’s done little to help matters this year, the first such event to be held under Rep. Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) leadership. CNN reported that fewer than 100 of the House’s 219 Republicans have RSVP’d to the retreat, with lawmakers offering a litany of reasons for why they’re no-showing. That includes Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) blaming her absence on a scheduled TV hit on Real Time with Bill Maher, Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) telling CNN he has to focus his time on running for governor, and Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) joking that he “don’t retreat, I move forward.” Burchett added that his real reasoning is that he’s “got a farm to run.”