Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., who voted in favor of President Donald Trump's impeachment, said Friday he will not seek re-election.
My conscience, principles, and commitment to do what s right have guided every decision I made as a Member of Congress, and they will guide my decision today, Katko wrote in a Facebook post, which stated that he plans to enjoy my family and life in a fuller and more present way. A four-term Congressman, Katko was one of a handful of House Republicans to cross party lines for major votes over the past year, including voting for President Joe Biden's $550 billion infrastructure bill and removal of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. from committee assignments for incendiary comments.
Last year, Katko, a ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, reached a compromise with the panel's chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. A bipartisan commission will be created to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The deal was stalled after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who had reportedly tasked Katko with coming up with the compromise plan, urged members to vote against it.
Katko was one of only 10 House Republicans to vote in favor of impeaching Trump last year for inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6. He's the third to announce he's not running again, joining Reps. Anthony Gonzalez of Illinois and Adam Kinzinger of Ohio.
Katko did not endorse Trump in 2016 but did in 2020, while telling constituents in his battlefield district he liked Trump's policies but not his personality.
Katko said at a campaign forum in October of 2020 that Trump is a knucklehead. I don't like him as a person, and of course I don't like him. I don't like his rhetoric. I don't like his lack of discipline. I am more concerned about your pocketbook. I am more concerned about your economic opportunity. I am more concerned about where we are going as a country. Trump celebrated Katko's announcement in a statement, saying, Great news, another one bites the dust.