An emotional Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) said Thursday that he would not seek reelection to Congress this year, instead choosing to retire after he reaches his term limit as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC).
At a press conference with his wife, Patricia, in the front row and several current and former staffers in attendance, McKeon said he would be leaving the House of Representatives but would never stop fighting to support the military and veterans.
“I’m not leaving the fight, I will continue to speak for funding for our military, for the training they need to give them the best chance to carry out their missions and return home safely,” he promised. Later, he tearfully added that “as a military grandfather…I don’t plan to forget about these issues or the troops. Patricia and I will always be among the thousands who pray for the safe return of those in uniform around the world who fight for our freedoms.”
Though McKeon will not have a say in who replaces him as HASC chairman, he strongly endorsed his current vice chairman, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), who ran against him in June 2009 to become ranking member of the committee. McKeon admitted he narrowly won, and just a year and a half he was elevated to chairman when the Republicans took over the House after the 2010 elections.
“I have so much respect for him and admiration for him as a congressman and as a person, as a leader,” McKeon said of Thornberry. “I think that he will run for the job as chairman, and I think he will win the job as chairman, and I think he’ll be an outstanding chairman.”
Thornberry released a statement later Thursday thanking McKeon for his support and adding that “at the appropriate time, I look forward to visiting with our colleagues on the Steering Committee about succeeding Buck, but we have a lot of work to do over the coming year.”
McKeon, who is in his 11th term in Congress and 10th on HASC, said his decision to retire was heavily influenced by being term-limited. “I don’t want to be around here second-guessing a chairman, I just don’t want to do that. I don’t want people making comparisons,” he said.
McKeon said he intends to pack the rest of this year with as much work as he can. He noted during the press conference that Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) recently eased congressional travel restrictions, so McKeon hopes to visit troops in Afghanistan as well as see military leaders around the world who often visit him in Washington.
McKeon mentioned an ongoing HASC effort that Thornberry is spearheading to tackle Pentagon acquisition reform. And he said work has already started to prepare for the fiscal year 2015 National Defense Authorization Bill, even though the FY ’14 bill passed just last month.
Asked what he hoped to accomplish this year to ensure his voice remains in the discussion as the military transitions from war in Afghanistan to its Asia-Pacific rebalance, and as it adjusts to lower spending levels, McKeon noted the success of last year’s National Defense Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in his district in California. McKeon’s event in his home district drew three defense secretaries, three members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, lawmakers, defense industry leaders and more.
“And then we had forums that were very open, very enlightening,” he said, adding that several HASC members told him the discussions were much more candid and informative than the more canned and prepared HASC testimony during hearings. Therefore, he said the next forum is already being planned for Nov. 15. 2014, and he hopes to continue it as an annual event even after his retirement.
“We’re going to make this something we can look at and focus on Reagan’s peace through strength,” he said.
McKeon will have plenty of opportunities to stay involved in military affairs from his home in Santa Clarita. Before being redistricted after the 2010 census, McKeon’s 25th district included Edwards AFB, Naval Air Warfare Center China Lake, Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow and the Army’s Fort Irwin. Defense contractors do plenty of work around those bases and have eagerly supported McKeon over the years–McKeon’s top contributors in his last election included Lockheed Martin [LMT], General Dynamics [GD] and Northrop Grumman [NOC]. He received $566,900 from the defense industry that election cycle, representing more than a quarter of his total money raised, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.
McKeon’s HASC colleagues were full of praise for their chairman following his announcement. Ranking member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said, “Buck set a tone on this committee that the rest of Congress should seek to emulate. As political tension continued to rise in Congress, Buck stayed committed to bipartisanship. We formed a strong working relationship that allowed us to pass the National Defense Authorization Act year after year. Given all the tense national security issues we have faced over the years, it would have been easy to devolve into partisan fights. Buck never let that happen–he never let our disagreements get in the way of providing for our troops.”
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said, “he has been a strong advocate for ensuring that our military has the capabilities to meet the complex and challenging threats it will face in the future. Since I took this position as secretary of defense a year ago, I have particularly appreciated his tireless work and leadership in providing DoD with greater budget stability and predictability.”