Moderate Republican Katko Announces Retirement From House

Congressman John Katko (R-NY) has announced unexpectedly that he will be standing down from the House of Representatives at this years midterms after four terms. Katko was one of 10 GOP congressmen who voted for President Donald Trump's impeachment in 2021. He was also the co-author of a bill intended to established a 9/11-style commisison to investigate the 1/6 Capitol riots (a bill rejected by GOP leadership).

• Katko would have been first in line to become chair of the House Homeland Security Committee in the event the Republicans win control of the House of Representatives in the mid-terms.
• In 2020, Katko won New York's 24th Congressional district (centred around the upstate city of Syracuse) by 53.1% of the vote to Democratic candidate Dana Balter's 43.0%. Without Katko's incumbency bonus, the district is likely to prove a toss-up in November.
• Katko's announcement places him into the growing group of moderate Republicans in purple or blue districts/states deciding to retire ahead of the midterms.