GOP Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) announced Tuesday he will not seek reelection in 2018, and pointed to increased political polarization as a reason.
LoBiondo, 71, said minorities in both parties increasingly have made it difficult to get things done.
“People before politics has always been my philosophy and my motivation. Regrettably, our nation is now consumed by increasing political polarization; there is no longer middle ground to honestly debate issues and put forward solutions,” he said in a statement.
“As some of my closest colleagues have also come to realize, those of us who came to Congress to change Washington for the better through good governance are now the outliers,” he continued. “In legislating, we previously fought against allowing the perfect to become the enemy of the good. Today a vocal and obstinate minority within both parties has hijacked good legislation in pursuit of no legislation.”
LoBiondo, who is serving his 12th term, has found himself on the other side of his leadership on high-profile issues in this Congress.
[contentcards url=”http://thehill.com/homenews/house/359162-gop-rep-lobiondo-to-retire-after-current-term-ends-reports” target=”_blank”]