In the past few weeks United States Congressman Howard “Buck” McKeon (CA-25), Chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, has been talking with prominent political leaders in his district, informing them that he may be retiring at the end of his current term. I’ve personally spoken to several of the folks who spoke with McKeon, who confirmed for me that they had spoken with the senior Republican who was first elected in 1992, and is currently serving in his 11th term in the House.DWT readers may recall that first time candidate Dr. Lee Rogers gave McKeon a real race in 2012, performing better against him than any candidate in his 20-year tenure in the House. Rogers owned McKeon in their only debate, which became a debate about the congressman’s lack of ethics. McKeon’s career has been plagued by ethical lapses in judgment, which the L.A. media was reporting. He is the only serving member of the House identified by the Republican-controlled House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as a beneficiary in the Countrywide mortgage scandal. Even chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) said the inside mortgage deal McKeon got was a type of bribe. Other issues that came to light was his connection to the defense industry and the apparent quid pro quos, paying his wife hundreds of thousands of dollars from his campaign account, and misusing campaign funds to investigate a political opponent to his wife.
I spoke with Congressman McKeon last evening in advance of publishing this story, and the Congressman would only say on the record that he has not yet made a decision about whether he would seek re-election in 2014.
Because of “committee term limits” within the House Republican Conference, the 74-year-old McKeon is in his last two year stint as Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. McKeon is the senior member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, but has already served in the top GOP spot on that committee for three terms, and so cannot run for the Chairmanship of that Committee again.
Perhaps Buck McKeon is taking the advice of his hometown newspaper, the Santa Clarita Signal, when their lukewarm endorsement in 2012 asked him to retire:
We want [McKeon] to return to being more of a Santa Clarita guy rather than a Washington guy. If our congressman is unwilling to do this, we believe he should consider retirement after this term.In 2014, McKeon would have been chairman of the House Armed Services Committee for 3 terms, a self-imposed limit by the House GOP leadership. So his choices are to become a run of the mill House member, or become a K street lobbyist for the war industry. McKeon publicly bemoaned the first-time campaign bruises he took in 2012. At 74-years-old he may not have the fight left in him to face a better-funded Rogers candidacy.
There is much speculation about McKeon’s 2012 opponent and Blue America-endorsed candidate Lee Rogers entering the 2014 race. We’ve been told the DCCC is recruiting him for another run and they are spending considerable resources making it known that they consider CA-25 to be a district in play. Rogers has a tremendous grassroots network in the district has already seen webpages like these popping up encouraging a 2014 run.
Rogers replied to our inquiry about a potential 2014 campaign by email last night from the California State Democratic Convention in Sacramento, writing:
“I’m very encouraged by all the support I’ve received so far and we established a fantastic foundation in 2012. I’m seriously considering the 2014 race and will make up my mind soon after careful evaluation. McKeon’s possible retirement is not a major factor in my decision. He’s ignored the issues of people in the district for some time.
"I’m eager to find out where McKeon stands on taking away benefits from seniors, since he’s supported previous measures like ending the Medicare benefit and raising the Social Security age. As a doctor I am adamantly opposed to cutting benefits to our population in most need. I announced several weeks ago, I would have been a day-one signer of the letter Mark Takano and Alan Grayson authored pledging to protect seniors and veterans from cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits, including chained CPI.
"I’m confident that if I ran in 2014 we wouldn’t have a funding deficit and I’m not afraid of a 2012 rematch or running against a different Republican. But in the meanwhile, I’m helping people in the district doing surgery to save legs from amputation and teaching other medical providers how to do what I do.”
On a side note, we congratulate Dr. Rogers on the recent award he received from his national organization designating him as a “Master” for being a key opinion leader who has impacted his profession through education, advocacy, and research.
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