House Freedom Caucus Kicks Out Rep. Ken Buck Days Before He Quits Congress

Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) is quitting Congress this week, but he shouldn’t expect a friendly sendoff from his fellow Republicans.

The House Freedom Caucus voted Tuesday night to kick Buck out, as first reported by The Hill. He has been a member of the conservative caucus for years but reportedly has not attended meetings for several months.

Buck announced the week prior that he would resign from Congress Friday, further reducing House Republicans’ slim majority and leaving his district without representation for three months until a special election can conclude.

The Coloradan has been without many allies in Congress since breaking from his party on significant priorities, including refusing to back Donald Trump or the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. He also voted against Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the party’s nominee for Speaker at the time, on the House floor. And he told CNN last year he would not run for reelection because Republicans “keep lying” about the results of the 2020 election and what happened on January 6, 2021.

Buck publicly admitted last year he would consider leaving Congress early to take a lucrative position as a talking head for a left-leaning establishment media outlet like CNN.