Rep. Rob Bishop says he will retire after one more term in Congress.
Bishop made the announcement at his town hall meeting on Friday where he said, “Someone will replace me, and they will be just as good. One more term. That’s it.” Bishop’s office has confirmed that he intends to retire according to multiple published reports.
One of the reasons Bishop is ready to hang ’em up is he can only serve one more term as Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee.
According to House rules, a lawmaker cannot serve more than three consecutive terms as chairman of a committee, except for the Rules Committee.
If Bishop is re-elected and Republicans maintain control of the House, he would serve his third and final term as chairman of Natural Resources, a key committee for his northern Utah district.
At the end of April, Bishop said it was not likely he would seek a U.S. Senate seat if the state’s senior senator, Republican Orrin G. Hatch, decided not to run for re-election in 2018. Hatch had previously said he would retire after his current term, but has signaled he is reconsidering that pledge now that Republicans control the White House and Congress.
“I’m a creature of the House and I find it very productive over here,” Bishop said in an interview on C-SPAN’s Newsmakers when asked about a potential Senate run.
Bishop would be leaving behind a solidly Republican district. President Donald Trump won Utah’s 1st CD by 27 points in 2016.
