US Representative Kevin Brady announces his retirement from Congress

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WASHINGTON – US Representative Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, announced Wednesday morning that this will be his last term in the US House.

First elected in 1996, Brady is one of the oldest members of the Texas delegation and a powerful player in the House Republican conference. The announcement was widely anticipated because he faced a term limit in his role as the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, which governs tax laws.

“I am retiring as your congressman. This term, my 13th, will be my last,” he announced in a speech at the Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Outlook Conference. “I originally intended to give my constituents the representation you deserve, the effectiveness you want, and the economic freedom you need. I hope I delivered.”

Brady is the second Texas congressman to announce that this would be his final term. Last month, Democratic U.S. Representative Filemon Vela from Brownsville announced his own retirement.

“Is this because I have lost faith in a partisan congress and the political system? Absolutely not,” said Brady. “I work with some of the most dedicated people in the country – talented, hardworking and serious about their responsibilities – in both parties. And after 25 years in the country’s Capitol, I haven’t seen a problem we can’t solve or pass by, not one, especially when we bring our ideas and our best intentions together.

As you may not know, since House Republicans limit committee leaders to six-year terms, I will not be able to chair the Ways and Means Committee in the next session when the Republicans regain the majority. Did that play a role in that decision? Yes, some.

“But the way I see it, the terms of our committee leader ensure that lawmakers who work hard and who work effectively will one day have the opportunity to lead, to bring fresh, new ideas to every committee we have. opinion is a good thing. “

A native of South Dakota, Brady headed the local Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce for nearly two decades. He ran for and won a seat in the Texas House in 1990 and came to Congress in 1996.

In his time on Capitol Hill, Brady has had no reservations about engaging in partisan battles, but he usually behaved with a sunny disposition. So much so that after walking unsuccessfully to Ways and Means as chairman of his first bid, the man who won the gavel – future House Speaker Paul Ryan – threw his support behind Brady on Brady’s second and successful run in 2015.

The peak of Brady’s career came in late 2017, when he spearheaded the successful Republican effort to drastically cut taxes. That victory came after Republicans failed to pass former President Barack Obama’s 2010 health bill.

The tax reform was the party’s most significant legislative achievement in the Trump era, but the federal deficit is also expected to widen.

Brady was also a regular on the Congressional Republican baseball team. Brady left the GOP team’s final morning practice session a few minutes early in 2017 and narrowly missed a gunman who injured his close friend and roommate, then-House Majority Whip Steve Scalise.

Brady’s retirement will lead to a struggle to replace him.

The population center of his district is Montgomery County, a powerful Republican stronghold in the northern Houston suburbs. As it stands, the 8th district extends north into the Piney Woods. It will likely undergo some changes in this year’s redistribution round.

However, it is difficult to envision a scenario where this seat becomes competitive territory for Democrats. Brady never won re-election with less than 59% of the vote, and he often won by a margin of 50 percentage points in more recent cycles. In 2020, then President Donald Trump carried the 8th district by a margin of 42 points from future President Joe Biden.

Brady’s retirement underscores a decline in clout over the years for Texas House Republicans and the inevitable reconstruction phase the Texas GOP delegation is going through.

Just five years ago, seven Texas Republicans led House committees. Most are retired. Rep. Michael McCaul was limited in his position as chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, but is now the top Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

U.S. Representative Pete Sessions headed the House Rules Committee, but lost reelection in 2018. He has since returned to Congress in another district, but will remain a full member for the time being.

Now that the Democrats are in control of the US House, there is currently one president from Texas. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, heads the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.

Should Republicans take power in the House in 2022, the U.S. Rep. Kay Granger of Fort Worth may be appointed to chair the House Appropriations Committee.

As for Brady, he remains optimistic about the country’s future.

“Ultimately, I will leave Congress as I entered it, with the absolute belief that we are a remarkable nation: the greatest in history,” he said. “Despite what the media and social media bombard you with every day, we are not the hateful, racist, divided nation that we are lured about. They are all wrong. Turn off all that noise and you will hear the true heartbeat of America . “