Staff Reports
Wenstrup said in a video on Thursday that he will not be running for re-election. He is following the lead of other lawmakers who have already announced their plans for the next election session. The 2nd Congressional District in Ohio has been his since 2012.
Wenstrup was honest about his choice and said he wanted to spend more time with his family. "Many people want to be somebody where I work, but as my surgeon mentor once told me, 'You don't have to be somebody else as long as you're somebody at home,' there's no need to be somebody else.'" Unfortunately, the fast pace of life in Washington has kept me away from our home too often. That's going to change.
A heartfelt message. pic.twitter.com/XshgO24H5t
— Brad Wenstrup (@bradwenstrup) November 10, 2023
As the head of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Wenstrup is well known for leading a probe into where COVID-19 came from and how the government responded. His committee just sent a subpoena to Lawrence Tabak, who is working as director of the National Institutes of Health. This is part of their investigation into David Morens, who used to work for Dr. Anthony Fauci and was the head of the National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
It seems like more and more politicians are stepping down. On Thursday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) also said he would not run for re-election. People in politics don't know what they want to do in the future, so there has been talk about whether Manchin will run again, try to become president, or quit.
Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA) has also made it clear that he is leaving his position and will not be running for re-election next November. Kilmer made his choice because the demands of his job kept him away from the people of Washington's 6th District for ten years.
There are people leaving from all parties. For example, Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Kay Granger (R-TX), and Ken Buck (R-CO) all recently said they would not run for reelection. Congress is going through a big change, and the way things are going now suggests that the future will be fast-paced and hard to predict. Do not miss the next episode of "As the Capitol Turns."
