House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington leaving Congress

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, announced he will not seek re-election in 2026, stepping away from serving as the Chairman of the House Budget Committee and what's considered a safe congressional seat in rural west Texas to pursue the "next challenge."

"I believe, as our founding fathers did in citizen leadership, temporary service, not a career," said Arrington in a retirement video.

"It's time to do what George Washington did, and to ride off into that big, beautiful West Texas sunset and to live under the laws that I passed."

Arrington's most recent signature accomplishment was serving as sponsor for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The major tax policy legislation lifted restrictions on Low Income Housing Tax Credits and steered around eliminating the tax exemption for municipal bonds.

"It was my highest privilege to author and lead President Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill,'" he said.

Arrington has also served on the House Ways and Means Committee since 2019.

The retirement appears to be a surprise to the administration as Arrington received a re-election endorsement from President Trump last week.

Arrington has indicated he would like to pass another Republican-led spending bill before he leaves town.

Since 2017 Arrington has represented Texas' 19^th Congressional district, which includes the cities of Lubbock and Abilene.

The district was not changed by the recent redistricting efforts of the Texas legislature and remains ruby red.

Arrington worked for then-Gov. George W. Bush and then joined President Bush in Washington D.C. via a chief of staff position at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

He became chair of the Budget Committee in 2022 where he used his perch to preach about fiscal restraint.

"The fiscal state of the nation, by any measure, is in a dire state and condition and is rapidly in decline," said Arrington during a committee hearing in May.

"I don't think that's up for debate. I think the question is, how much longer do we have to allow this unsustainable fiscal trajectory to persist without some intervention both parties?"

Arrington graduated from Texas Tech University, the son of a tractor salesman and mother who taught school. He also served as the Vice Chancellor of Texas Tech University System and helmed a healthcare innovation company in Lubbock.

The filing deadline for Arrington's seat is Dec. 8 with Democrat Kyle Rable already officially in the race.