This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/meadows-close-ally-of-trump-to-retire-from-congress/2019/12/19/e15e4112-224f-11ea-a153-dce4b94e4249_story.html
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Meadows, close ally of Trump, to retire from Congress | Meadows, close ally of Trump, to retire from Congress |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), one of President Trump’s closest allies and staunchest defenders in Congress, announced Thursday that he would not seek reelection next year but would instead stay “in the fight” with Trump in an unspecified role. | Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), one of President Trump’s closest allies and staunchest defenders in Congress, announced Thursday that he would not seek reelection next year but would instead stay “in the fight” with Trump in an unspecified role. |
| “For everything there is a season,” Meadows said in a statement. “After prayerful consideration and discussion with family, today I’m announcing that my time serving Western North Carolina in Congress will come to a close at the end of this term.” | “For everything there is a season,” Meadows said in a statement. “After prayerful consideration and discussion with family, today I’m announcing that my time serving Western North Carolina in Congress will come to a close at the end of this term.” |
| Meadows, a former chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who has served in Congress since 2013, is the 25th House Republican to announce he will not seek reelection next year, according to a tally by the House Press Gallery. | Meadows, a former chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who has served in Congress since 2013, is the 25th House Republican to announce he will not seek reelection next year, according to a tally by the House Press Gallery. |
| Meadows, 60, was considered for the position of Trump’s chief of staff last year, but Trump ultimately told him that he would like him to remain on Capitol Hill. | Meadows, 60, was considered for the position of Trump’s chief of staff last year, but Trump ultimately told him that he would like him to remain on Capitol Hill. |
| “Congressman Mark Meadows is a great friend to President Trump and is doing an incredible job in Congress,” then-White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. “The president told him we need him in Congress, so he can continue the great work he is doing there.” | “Congressman Mark Meadows is a great friend to President Trump and is doing an incredible job in Congress,” then-White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. “The president told him we need him in Congress, so he can continue the great work he is doing there.” |
| In his statement, Meadows praised Trump and said his work with him “is only beginning.” | In his statement, Meadows praised Trump and said his work with him “is only beginning.” |
| “This president has accomplished incredible results for the country in just 3 years, and I’m fully committed to staying in the fight with him and his team to build on those successes and deliver on his promises for the years to come,” Meadows said. | |
| He did not elaborate on what that work might entail. | He did not elaborate on what that work might entail. |
| Meadows easily won reelection last year, receiving 59 percent of the vote against his Democratic opponent. | Meadows easily won reelection last year, receiving 59 percent of the vote against his Democratic opponent. |
| Meadows has been in talks with Trump for months about his possible next steps, with an increasing pull toward leaving Congress and taking on a high-profile role supporting the president’s reelection campaign, according to three people familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. | |
| While Meadows came close to moving to the West Wing in December 2018 as chief of staff, he has since leaned against joining the government and contemplated leaving the House after the impeachment inquiry ended, since he does not enjoy being in the House minority and spends much of his time at the White House huddling with Trump, the people said. | While Meadows came close to moving to the West Wing in December 2018 as chief of staff, he has since leaned against joining the government and contemplated leaving the House after the impeachment inquiry ended, since he does not enjoy being in the House minority and spends much of his time at the White House huddling with Trump, the people said. |
| Since Democrats took control of the House this year, Meadows has been one of the president’s leading allies in the chamber amid the impeachment inquiry and during the Russia investigation, offering vocal defenses of Trump’s conduct from his seat on the House Oversight Committee. | Since Democrats took control of the House this year, Meadows has been one of the president’s leading allies in the chamber amid the impeachment inquiry and during the Russia investigation, offering vocal defenses of Trump’s conduct from his seat on the House Oversight Committee. |
| Meadows’s former House colleague, Mick Mulvaney, was ultimately tapped by Trump for chief of staff instead and now serves in an acting role. He replaced John F. Kelly. Several Mulvaney allies have long grumbled that Meadows still enjoys extensive access to Trump. | Meadows’s former House colleague, Mick Mulvaney, was ultimately tapped by Trump for chief of staff instead and now serves in an acting role. He replaced John F. Kelly. Several Mulvaney allies have long grumbled that Meadows still enjoys extensive access to Trump. |
| Meadows’s ubiquitous presence around Trump once annoyed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who has his own close ties to Trump. | Meadows’s ubiquitous presence around Trump once annoyed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who has his own close ties to Trump. |
| But McCarthy and Meadows have grown closer over the past year as their battles over policy have faded, and they have united in defense of Trump, according to top Republicans who are close to both men. | |
| “I wish Rep. Mark Meadows would stay. He’s been a great member,” McCarthy said at his weekly news conference. | |
| Meadows, who is known for his ambition, explored other career options this year, from potential bids for higher office in North Carolina to other roles in the administration. Earlier this month, however, he told friends that he would probably be most comfortable playing a major role in the 2020 campaign as one of Trump’s top boosters, according to one person who has spoken with him about his plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. | |
| Meadows plotted a rapid rise to power and influence in Republican Washington, one propelled by his early willingness to challenge the GOP establishment. He almost instantly leaped from anonymous backbencher to oft-quoted conservative insurgent in 2015. | Meadows plotted a rapid rise to power and influence in Republican Washington, one propelled by his early willingness to challenge the GOP establishment. He almost instantly leaped from anonymous backbencher to oft-quoted conservative insurgent in 2015. |
| Just before the House left for its summer recess — and on his own birthday — Meadows filed a motion to remove then-Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) from his perch, seizing on years of growing dismay on the hard right. Within two months, Boehner would announce his resignation. | Just before the House left for its summer recess — and on his own birthday — Meadows filed a motion to remove then-Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) from his perch, seizing on years of growing dismay on the hard right. Within two months, Boehner would announce his resignation. |
| Meadows, as a co-founder and later chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, went on to play a pivotal role over the speakership of Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) — inserting himself and the Freedom Caucus into virtually every major legislative decision in the House. This made Meadows a power player rivaling only the speaker himself. | Meadows, as a co-founder and later chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, went on to play a pivotal role over the speakership of Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) — inserting himself and the Freedom Caucus into virtually every major legislative decision in the House. This made Meadows a power player rivaling only the speaker himself. |
| That continued into the early years of the Trump administration as Meadows built a close bond with the president. A socially conservative Florida native who made a small fortune developing vacation homes and shopping centers in the western North Carolina mountains, Meadows recognized early that the brash New Yorker was striking a chord with conservative voters — and he wanted to join the band. | That continued into the early years of the Trump administration as Meadows built a close bond with the president. A socially conservative Florida native who made a small fortune developing vacation homes and shopping centers in the western North Carolina mountains, Meadows recognized early that the brash New Yorker was striking a chord with conservative voters — and he wanted to join the band. |
| By 2018, he was one of Trump’s closest confidants in Congress, one who would frequently cut short conversations with reporters to take a call from the president. In 2019, he stepped down as Freedom Caucus chairman but maintained his role as a Capitol Hill power player, one based largely on his proximity to the president. | By 2018, he was one of Trump’s closest confidants in Congress, one who would frequently cut short conversations with reporters to take a call from the president. In 2019, he stepped down as Freedom Caucus chairman but maintained his role as a Capitol Hill power player, one based largely on his proximity to the president. |
| Republicans across the ideological divide on Thursday praised Meadows — an unusual development for a figure who was deeply divisive inside the GOP ranks as recently as a year ago. Even after Trump’s election, Meadows led insurgencies against Ryan and other leaders that at least temporarily derailed major Republican bills, including the failed 2017 effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. | |
| Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), a Freedom Caucus member, credited Meadows for helping give the group its clout and fight by taking on Boehner in 2015 and later under Ryan. | |
| “For the first time in decades, we’ve had a conservative group that is willing to stand up and take the speaker on directly,” Buck said. “He did that with the health-care bill, recently with President Trump. He took on the White House and the Republican leadership, Paul Ryan. He did it with many bills when Boehner was speaker . . . and so he really has been a leader that has taught a lot of us that you can make bills better within a caucus.” | |
| Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a fixture of the GOP establishment who has found himself on the other side of numerous internecine fights with Meadows, also piled praise on him Thursday — noting a recent pivot from conservative firebrand to Washington power broker. | |
| “He’s moved the Republican conference to the right, no question about that,” he said. “But, you know, he’s been magnificent, particularly this year, I think, defending the president and helping create unity both within the conference and in the relationship between the White House and the [House GOP], and he deserves credit for that. Now, I wish I could persuade him to vote for more appropriations bills.” | |
| Cole said he expects Meadows to remain a Washington power player after he leaves Congress. | |
| “A guy like that is a very valuable person. And I hope he stays active in some way. . . . I certainly don’t see him fading into political obscurity,” Cole said. | |
| Read more at PowerPost | Read more at PowerPost |