The House will return on Jan. 6, and with it, some 10% of lawmakers will start their final year in the lower chamber, either retiring or seeking higher office in the 2026 midterm elections.

The lower chamber will get its first departure on Jan. 5. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) announced in November that she would retire at the beginning of the year and not finish out her term, which ends in early 2027.

But by the end of 2026, 44 other House members will not be returning to their seats. Of those members, 19 are stepping away from public office, 11 are seeking a governorship, and 14 are looking to make the jump to the Senate. One lawmaker, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), is running for attorney general.

The 45 House members leaving the 119th Congress, plus the 11 senators not seeking reelection, have set a modern record for announcing their departures this far ahead of a major election for both chambers. It is also the most Senate turnover since 2012.

Prominent Democrats and Republicans say goodbye to politics

Among the most prominent Democrats retiring is Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). She is leaving Capitol Hill after nearly 40 years in Congress, leaving behind a legacy that includes becoming the first female speaker of the House from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023.

Other establishments lawmakers saying goodbye include Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Chuy García (D-IL), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Danny Davis (D-IL), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Dwight Evans (D-PA), who have opted to pass on the torch to a new generation. 

This comes as Democrats’ progressive base has been itching for new blood in Congress in the wake of significant losses in the 2024 election. Younger leaders and voters are pushing for their Democratic leaders to fight more against President Donald Trump, though legislatively, they often have their hands tied due to the GOP holding the majority in all three branches of government.

Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) is leaving politics because he is tired of the atmosphere and hyper-partisanship that’s grown on Capitol Hill, as well as the rise in political violence in the wake of the assassinations of Charlie Kirk and Minnesota legislator Melissa Hortman, attempts on Trump’s life, and other instances. 

On the Republican side, lawmakers such as Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Jodey Arrington (R-TX), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Don Bacon (R-NE) are leaving after many years of service in the House. Arrington, in particular, is retiring after helping facilitate the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is set to be the Republicans’ cornerstone piece of legislation for the 119th Congress. 

Bacon and Newhouse have not been afraid to be outspoken against Trump and his policies throughout his two terms in the White House — a rare trait for a Republican member in politics, now that Trump has cemented himself as the highly influential leader of the GOP and is not afraid to launch primary challenges to replace centrists with his allies. 

Notably, many lawmakers on both the Democratic and Republican sides are giving up their reelection bids in safe seats, which won’t make or break either party’s ability to get the House majority. Swing districts, such as Bacon’s and Golden’s, are likely to end up in the hands of the opposite party, but that will offset and not affect the numbers much, either.

Lawmakers seeking other offices

Many are eyeing a seat in the Senate, a chamber that is not without its hurdles but often is considered a more prominent position in Congress, given that senators have longer terms and do not have to run for reelection every two years.

Among Democrats seeking a Senate seat are Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Robin Kelly (D-IL), Angie Craig (D-MN), and Haley Stevens (D-MI). All are looking to fill a position left vacant by a retiring senator.

The Texas Senate race will be one of the most-watched races of the 2026 cycle, given the competitive primaries from both parties. In Illinois, a Democrat is likely to succeed Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), but a heated primary will make for an interesting election season in a blue state.

On the Republican side, Reps. Wesley Hunt (R-TX), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Harriet Hageman (R-WY), Barry Moore (R-AL), Andy Barr (R-KY), Mike Collins (R-GA), and Buddy Carter (R-GA) are running for the Senate.

While most hope easily to replace outgoing senators, a few — such as Hunt and Moore — are wading into messy GOP primaries. Hunt will face off against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Attorney General Ken Paxton, while Moore will square off against at least three other strong contenders. Colleagues Carter and Collins will battle each other for the GOP nomination.

“Among Republicans, some members have simply hit a ceiling in Congress or party leadership and see greater opportunity back home,” Republican strategist Dennis Lennox said. “Others are fed up with a House that can’t legislate and a Senate where almost nothing clears the 60-vote threshold.”

Lennox said 2026 is projected to be a “bad cycle” for Republicans, if the numbers and trends hold. But, he said, “Republicans won’t lose the majority because incumbents chose not to run again.”

Many House members want to leave Capitol Hill altogether, but don’t want to stop their political careers. On the GOP side, most members who are leaving the House are seeking a governorship: Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Randy Feenstra (R-IA), and David Schweikert (R-AZ), to name a few. 

The only Democrat running for governor is Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). 

What’s the cause of all these retirements? 

The departure of so many members is not surprising to many strategists.

“Congress has been a bad workplace for a long time,” said Doug Heye, a Republican strategist who’s held communications positions in the House, Senate, and for the Republican National Committee. He attributes the decline in Congress as a positive place for employment to the events of Jan. 6, 2021. He said after that, bipartisan relationships “have fallen apart.” 

“Democrats immediately said, ‘These 20 members, take me off any of their bills that I’m a co-sponsor on.’ And I get it. So it became a worse workplace. Then we had a 15-round vote for speaker — bad workplace. We had a speaker deposed for no reason, and a speaker pro temp, God love [former Rep.] Patrick McHenry, for three weeks — bad workplace. And now we have discharge petitions that are going through. Bad workplace,” Heye said.

“It’s hard to talk to a member of Congress, Republican or Democratic, who likes their day job.”

Heye said that he thinks if House members were abandoning ship because of a fear of Trump or a fear of elections, they wouldn’t seek other offices. He pointed to Hinson, who could easily win in her red district but is instead looking to move forward to a higher position.

“We’ll see if any of them are happy in those higher offices,” Heye said. “But the primary fear for me is, the House of Representatives is an especially toxic workplace, and it’s what we see playing out every day. But we’re all spectators, we’re not participants.”

GOP strategist John Feehery agreed that Congress is “not an easy lifestyle.” 

“I am not sure if it is a sign that the House is gone, but clearly some members want different jobs in the public sector and some just want to make more money,” Feehery said. “It is an interesting time to be in Congress as a Republican. The party is changing, becoming more populist, and with Trump in the White House, they have an opportunity to get a lot done legislatively.”