Republican Congresswoman Retires Without Telling Leadership
AAN
Her determined efforts weren't enough to overcome a headwind facing the Republican Party last year, leading to a 40 seat pickup in November for Democrats.
The Indy Star further reports:
For 2020, Democrats had put Brooks on their "retirement watch list." They see her district, which includes the wealthy northern Indianapolis suburban areas, as potentially flippable as Republican support has eroded in some suburban areas under President Donald Trump.
But Brooks insists Indiana's 5th District, which she carried by nearly 14 points as Republicans lost the House in November, will remain in GOP hands with or without her.
So is she leaving because it's no fun being in the minority? Brooks points to legislation she's been working on with Democrats, including a bill reauthorizing funding for health emergency programs that is awaiting the president's signature.
Is she frustrated with the party's support for female candidates after voters sent the lowest number of GOP women to the House in a quarter-century? Brooks said she feels good about the ongoing efforts to change that.
Brooks adds that she has a "fine relationship" with the president and an "outstanding" one with Vice President Pence, a fellow Hoosier and law school classmate.
Brooks announced her retirement decision to USA Today before informing party leaders, telling the paper's Washington correspondent "I have no idea what they're going to do."
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