{"id":2582031,"date":"2026-03-20T07:10:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T11:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-senator-offered-a-refreshingly-candid-explanation-for-her-retirement-plans\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T07:13:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T11:13:30","slug":"this-senator-offered-a-refreshingly-candid-explanation-for-her-retirement-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-senator-offered-a-refreshingly-candid-explanation-for-her-retirement-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"This senator offered a refreshingly candid explanation for her retirement plans"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthis-senator-offered-a-refreshingly-candid-explanation-for-her-retirement-plans%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2582031&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article surveys a wave of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >retirement announcements adn political turnover shaping<\/a> the 2026 elections, anchored by Sen. Cynthia Lummis\u2019s candid retirement description and a related Oklahoma power shift. It notes that Lummis (R-WY) announced she won\u2019t seek reelection at the end of the 119th Congress (early January 2027), calling herself a \u201csprinter in a marathon\u201d and saying the energy required for six more years doesn\u2019t align with her current capacity.Her honest rationale is presented as refreshingly candid and is set against a broader pattern: nine senators are not seeking reelection in 2026, dozens of House members are leaving or seeking othre offices, and overall turnover would be the highest in decades. The piece attributes some of this to polarization and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mtg-says-she-feels-sorry-for-trump-and-that-president-is-so-hateful\/\" title=\"MTG says she &#039;feels sorry&#039; for Trump and that president is &#039;so hateful&#039;\">toxic political surroundings<\/a> during Donald Trump\u2019s presidency.<\/p>\n<p>on the Oklahoma front, the piece describes a DHS-related shake-up that reshapes the 2026 contest in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-rep-tim-ryan-announces-ohio-senate-bid\/\" title=\"Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan announces Ohio ... bid\">red-leaning state<\/a>. It explains that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is slated to leave to become a special envoy for the Western Hemisphere,with Senator Markwayne Mullin expected to be named as her replacement in the administration. Because of an oklahoma law requiring pledges not to run for the appointed post,Governor kevin Stitt would likely appoint a placeholder for Mullin\u2019s Senate seat. The anticipated successor for Mullin is Rep. Kevin Hern, a House Republican leader hopeful, which would create an opening in the Tulsa-area 1st Congressional District. That district\u2019s primary is set to include candidates such as Kim David and Mark Tedford.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">This senator offered a refreshingly candid explanation for her retirement plans<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2453996\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>There&rsquo;s a familiar rhetorical pattern to retirement announcements by most members of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\">Congress<\/a>. Whether a Democrat or a Republican, they&rsquo;ll none-too-humbly brag about the federal largesse brought by them to their state or district.<\/p>\n<p>They&rsquo;ll also praise their own judgment and wisdom, often with a quote from William Shakespeare or the Bible about knowing when to leave. A favorite retiring lawmaker line overlaps with &ldquo;Turn! Turn! Turn!&rdquo; &mdash; the 1959 Pete Seeger song, and its 1965 jangly and electrified hit version by The Byrds. A tune based on Ecclesiastes 3:3 scripture: &ldquo;A time to break down, and a time to build up.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4497003\/senate-filibuster-and-its-discontents\/\">The filibuster and its discontents in both parties<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4498196\/elizabeth-warren-endorsements-maine-michigan\/\">Warren backs populist primary candidates in Maine and Michigan<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4497722\/kevin-kiley-open-caucus-democrat-next-term\/\">Kevin Kiley open to caucusing with Democrats in next term after going independent<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) is offering no such self-serving explanations about her looming Capitol Hill departure.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Deciding not to run for reelection does represent a change of heart for me, but in the difficult, exhausting session weeks this fall, I&rsquo;ve come to accept that I do not have six more years in me,&rdquo; Lummis said in a Dec. 19, 2025, statement announcing her Senate retirement at the end of the 119th Congress, in early January 2027.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I am a devout legislator, but I feel like a sprinter in a marathon,&rdquo; Lummis said. &ldquo;The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cynthia-lummis-becomes-11th-senator-to-walk-away-from-upper-chamber-in-2026\/\" title=\"Cynthia ... becomes 11th ... to walk away from upper chamber in 2026\">energy required doesn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t match up.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>That&rsquo;s a refreshingly honest reason for calling it quits, and an understandable one. Direct flights from Washington Dulles International Airport to Jackson Hole, in Wyoming&rsquo;s northwest region, run once a week, on Saturdays. Getting to Cheyenne, Wyoming&rsquo;s state capital, likely means flying into Denver, and then driving 102 miles north from the Colorado capital to the southeast Wyoming city.<\/p>\n<p>Lummis, 71, is among nine senators not seeking reelection in November 2026. Twenty-six House members are leaving voluntarily. Another 24 House members are seeking bids for other offices, such as senator, governor, or state attorney general. Four House members have lost primary bids for higher office, and another was defeated for renomination.<\/p>\n<p>This exodus represents the highest turnover in the House since 1992 and in the Senate since 2012. There&rsquo;s no one factor at play. But lawmakers, despite saccharine statements about the virtue of public service and knowing when to hang it up, behind the scenes cite darker reasons, including polarization that makes it difficult to enact legislation, and among Democrats and at least some Republicans, a toxic political environment during President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>&rsquo;s second, nonconsecutive term.<\/p>\n<p>As for Lummis, this is actually the second congressional departure. She was Wyoming&rsquo;s lone House member for eight years but didn&rsquo;t seek reelection in the 2016 cycle. She returned to Washington after being elected to the Senate in 2020, succeeding a longtime Republican incumbent.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-dhs-tensions-spur-oklahoma-political-shuffle\">DHS tensions spur Oklahoma political shuffle<\/h2>\n<p>The 2026 election cycle was supposed to be relatively quiet in Oklahoma. The deep-red state, where Republican presidential candidates have won all 77 counties going back to the 2004 elections, looked set to back Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) for a full, six-year term. After 10 years in the House, Mullin won a Senate special election in 2022, just ahead of the prior GOP incumbent&rsquo;s resignation.<\/p>\n<p>But the Oklahoma situation shifted significantly when, in the first Cabinet shake-up of Trump&rsquo;s second term, he announced that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would leave office on March 31. Noem is moving to a newly created position as&nbsp;special envoy for the &ldquo;Shield of the Americas,&rdquo; a security initiative focused on the Western Hemisphere.<\/p>\n<p>Noem had been a top public face of the Trump administration&rsquo;s deportation agenda, which led to several public relations disasters, including a two-day testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee that reportedly angered Trump.<\/p>\n<p>The president announced his intention to replace Noem with Mullin, who is likely to be confirmed and in office by March 31 because Republicans hold the Senate majority. Plus, Mullin, as a sitting senator, can vote in favor of his own nomination.<\/p>\n<p>To replace Mullin in the Senate, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) is highly likely to pick a placeholder. That&rsquo;s due to an Oklahoma law that requires anyone who accepts such an appointment to sign a pledge not to run for the post in the next election.<\/p>\n<p>While this law is likely unenforceable &mdash; the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that states cannot impose eligibility requirements on federal candidates beyond those in the Constitution &mdash; it would put anyone interested in seeking a full term in an awkward position.<\/p>\n<p>Mullin&rsquo;s likely replacement for a full term is the most prominent declared candidate, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), a member of the House GOP leadership as House Republican Policy Committee chairman. Hern has long had his eye out for a prominent political post. When the House ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October 2023 after only nine months in the chamber&rsquo;s top spot, Hern briefly ran to replace the California Republican. However, Hern dropped out before the balloting that chose now-House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4452808\/chuck-grassley-secret-subpoenas-call-logs-undercut-protections\/\">GRASSLEY SAYS SECRET SUBPOENAS FOR LAWMAKERS&rsquo; CALL LOGS UNDERCUT CONGRESSIONAL PROTECTIONS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hern&rsquo;s Senate bid opens up the Tulsa-area 1st Congressional District, where he first won in a November 2018 special election. His replacement is virtually certain to be a Republican, as Trump beat Democratic nominee Kamala Harris there 60%-38% in 2024. Candidates in the June 16 Republican primary include Kim David, a member of Oklahoma&rsquo;s Corporation Commission who previously served as state Senate majority leader, and state Rep. Mark Tedford.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lummis retires candidly, citing energy limits<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2695,"featured_media":2582032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WB.Congress.032526.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[76208,69323,76207,4012,12404],"class_list":["post-2582031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-candid-explanation","tag-political-news-2","tag-retirement-plans","tag-senator","tag-transparency"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WB.Congress.032526.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2582031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2695"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2582031"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2582031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2582035,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2582031\/revisions\/2582035"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2582032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2582031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2582031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2582031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}