Longtime New York Rep. Pete King won’t seek re-election

Longtime Long Island Congressman Pete King announced Monday that he will not seek re-election in 2020.

In a statement, the 14-term Republican congressman said his “prime reason” for retiring “was that after 28 years of spending 4 days a week in Washington, DC, it is time to end the weekly commute and be home in Seaford.”

“This was not an easy decision. But there is a season for everything and Rosemary and I decided that, especially since we are both in good health, it is time to have the flexibility to spend more time with our children and grandchildren,” King, 75, said, referring to his wife.

“My daughter’s recent move to North Carolina certainly accelerated my thinking,” continued King, who serves on the House Homeland Security and Financial Services committees.

“My time in Congress has been an extraordinary experience – an experience I wouldn’t have even dared imagine when I was a kid growing up in Sunnyside or a college student loading and unloading trucks and freight cars at Manhattan’s West Side Railway Terminal.

“I intend to remain in Seaford, be active politically and look forward to seeing what opportunities and challenges await me in this next chapter of a very fortunate life.”

King, who has served in Congress since 2003, was the first Republican to sign onto an assault weapons ban earlier this year, joining its 200 Democratic co-sponsors. The measure ultimately failed.

He said in his statement that he “will always be proud” of his efforts for 9/11 victims and their families, as well as protecting citizens from terrorism and MS-13.

“In the coming weeks and during the next year I intend to vote against President Trump’s impeachment and will support the President’s bid for re-election,” he added.

More than a dozen Republicans have so far announced that they are retiring from the lower chamber, resigning or running for other offices.

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