Outgoing Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) has said he has no regrets about abruptly resigning from his role in the House of Representatives because of his mounting frustration with Congress amid growing dysfunction among his peers.
In a March 24 interview on the ABC News program “This Week,” he said that regardless of what happens next, he does not regret his decision in the slightest because of his frustration with what he saw as dysfunction on Capitol Hill.
“No rear-view mirror, happy to move on. Dysfunctional place,” he said.
According to Mr. Buck, his choice to leave Congress was driven by elected members’ inability to deal with significant issues. He has also indicated a passion for changing electoral laws in the United States and said he was leaving to “find the right organization to join” and “start working on that issue.”
“Since this Congress started, there have been efforts to impeach the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the president, the attorney general, the FBI director, and, in fact, did impeach the director secretary of homeland security,” he said.
Mr. Buck claims the current Congress has “[s]erious problems with setting priorities” and should focus on broader issues affecting the country and its allies.
One day before his retirement, Mr. Buck became the first Republican in the House to sign the Democrats’ discharge petition to force a vote on sending an additional $60 million in foreign aid to Ukraine. Despite his retirement, he also was removed from the House Freedom Caucus due to attendance issues.
Mr. Buck has represented Colorado’s fourth district since 2015. According to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), Mr. Buck’s newly vacated congressional seat will be decided in a special election on June 25, which is aligned with the state’s upcoming presidential primary.