Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., one of the few Republicans in Congress who voted to impeach President Donald Trump, announced Wednesday that he would not seek re-election next year.
In a statement posted to his X account, Newhouse wrote that his decision to retire from Congress "comes with no reservations or remorse, only gratitude for the tremendous opportunity to have represented my home state in Congress."
He added that he looks "forward to this new chapter and way I can continue to serve my community and this great nation," and thanked his family "for their steadfast love and support."
Newhouse has elected in 2014 and is one of the last two remaining House Republicans out of 10 — alongside Rep. David Valadao, of California — who voted to impeach Trump in 2021 over his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. There are only three remaining Republican senators — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — who voted to convict Trump.
At the time, Newhouse said he was voting to impeach Trump because "the mob was inflamed by the language and misinformation of the President of the United States."
"He did not strongly condemn the attack nor did he call in reinforcements when our officers were overwhelmed. Our country needed a leader, and President Trump failed to fulfill his oath of office," Newhouse added. "I will vote yes on the articles of impeachment.”
Newhouse’s seat is one that Republicans likely won’t struggle to hold. Trump won the district by 21 percentage points in 2024 and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race “Solid Republican.”
Newhouse won re-election by 6 percentage points last year, beating Trump-backed Jerrod Sessler in the general election after Sessler beat him in the GOP primary. Washington uses a top-two primary system, meaning the top two vote-getters in a primary move onto the general election, regardless of party.
Sessler, a businessman and former NASCAR driver, is running in the district again in 2026, which will hold its primary in August.
Sessler, who is also a Navy veteran, has said that he was in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, and attended Trump's speech. He said that he did not enter the Capitol that day.
Sessler has defended Jan. 6 rioters, including those who were prosecuted — and pardoned by the president earlier this year — for their actions at the Capitol that day. He's called them "innocent Americans" and has spread debunked conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election.
Cassidy, meanwhile, is facing a crowded GOP primary field, including candidates who have criticized his decision to vote to impeach Trump.
