WASHINGTON — The House Financial Services Committee chairman has decided not to run for re-election next year, saying today he “never intended to make it a lifetime commitment, and I have already stayed far longer than I had originally planned.”
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) was first elected to Congress in 2002, and said the impending end of his term at the helm of the Financial Services Committee “seems right for my departure” from the House.
“Although I will not be running for re-election, there are 14 months left in my congressional term to continue the fight for individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited constitutional government – the causes for which I remain passionate,” Hensarling added. “Much work remains at the House Financial Services Committee in the areas of housing finance reform, regulatory relief, cyber security and capital formation to name just a few. Furthermore, important work remains in the Congress as a whole – especially pro-growth tax reform.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) called Hensarling, who faced no primary challenger and no Democratic opponent in 2016, “a true constitutional conservative who understands that free enterprise is critical to a thriving America.”
“Jeb led conservatives in the House as chairman of the Republican Study Committee and has fought tirelessly for all Americans as chairman of the Financial Services Committee. I want to thank him in particular for his work on a hallmark jobs bill, the Financial CHOICE Act, which passed the House this summer, and for his instrumental role in our Better Way agenda,” Ryan said. “I am going to miss him and this institution will miss him, but knowing Jeb, I’m positive he has a great chapter ahead.”
The current chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.), said Hensarling led the caucus from 2007-2009 with “grit and wisdom.”
“Without fail, he has always been able to crystalize the conservative direction forward when Congress is presented with challenges,” Walker said. “It is not often that we get champions in Congress for limited government and fiscal discipline like Jeb. He will be missed.”
Hensarling’s district includes part of the Dallas area southeast down through Cherokee County.
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