Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., announced Friday that she will retire from Congress at the end of her current term in 2025.
Spartz, whose career in politics began in the Indiana state Senate in 2017, said she will not seek an additional two terms in the House or seek “any office” in the next election cycle.
“It’s been my honor representing Hoosiers in the Indiana State Senate and US Congress and I appreciate the strong support on the ground,” Spartz said in a statement. “2024 will mark seven years of holding elected office and over a decade in Republican politics.”
Spartz, who was first elected to represent Indiana’s 5th Congressional District in 2020 and was rumored to be interested in a run for Indiana’s open Senate seat, said her decision will allow her to spend more time with her family.
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“I won a lot of tough battles for the people and will work hard to win a few more in the next two years,” she said. “However, being a working mom is tough and I need to spend more time with my two high school girls back home, so I won’t run for any office in 2024.”
Spartz’s announcement may give Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind. – quien launched his candidacy last month for the Senate in a 2024 run to fill a seat that is currently held by GOP Sen. Mike Braun—a little breathing room. Braun announced in December that he’s running for governor of the Hoosier State rather than seek re-election.
Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., attends a business meeting prior to a hearing on US southern border security on Capitol Hill, February 01, 2023 in Washington, DC.
(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The announcement from Spartz, a Ukrainian-American who has served as a mostly independent voice in the Republican Party, came nearly three months after she was re-elected to the House.
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Late last month, Spartz made headlines after she criticized House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s plan to kick some Democrats off their committees.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., conducts a news conference in the US Capitols Statuary Hall on Thursday, January 12, 2023.
(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“Speaker Pelosi took unprecedented actions last Congress to remove Reps. Greene and Gosar from their committees without proper due process. Speaker McCarthy is taking unprecedented actions this Congress to deny some committee assignments to the minority without proper due process again,” Spartz said in a statement.
“As I spoke against it on the House floor two years ago, I will not support this charade again. Speaker McCarthy needs to stop ‘bread and circuses’ in Congress and start governing for a change,” she added.
However, Spartz ultimately voted with McCarthy and most of the GOP caucus to oust Omar from her committee assignments on Thursday.
That wasn’t the first time Spartz had displayed opposition to McCarthy’s leadership. During his challenging bid to become speaker last month, Spartz initially supported McCarthy but was the only member to vote “present” in the fourth round of voting, stating that she was trying to help the negotiation process.
Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., is seen on the House floor during a House speaker vote on January 4, 2023.
(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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Spartz ultimately voted for McCarthy in the final round of voting, which ended with the California Republican obtaining the speaker’s gavel.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this article.
