‘Leaders Are Lying’: Ken Buck Warns against GOP’s Election Dishonesty in Retirement Announcement

Representative Ken Buck (R., Co.), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, announced that he would not be seeking reelection next year and cautioned voters against a growing anti-democratic undercurrent within the Republican Party.

“Americans are rightfully concerned about our nation’s future and are looking to Republicans in Washington for a course correction,” the five-term representative said on Wednesday afternoon in a video address. “But their hope for Republicans to take decisive action may be in vain. Our nation is on a collision course with reality, and a steadfast commitment to truth – even uncomfortable truths – is the only way forward.”

“Too many Republican leaders are lying to America, claiming that the 2020 election was stolen, describing January 6 as an unguided tour of the Capitol, and asserting that the ensuing prosecutions are a weaponization of our justice system,” Buck continued.

Buck, one of only two Freedom Caucus members to vote in favor of certifying the 2020 presidential results, condemned fellow Republicans for spreading misinformation about election integrity. “These insidious narratives breed widespread cynicism and erode Americans’ confidence in the rule of law. It is impossible for the Republican Party to confront our problems and offer a course correction for the future while being obsessively fixated on retribution and vengeance for contrived injustices of the past.”

Buck, first elected to Congress in 2014, also condemned the Democratic Party for embracing policies that “have had real-world consequences,” including, “defunding the police, politicizing student loans, provoking inflation with excessive spending, creating open borders, decimating our domestic energy production.”

The announcement comes just hours after Representative Kay Granger (R., Texas), chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, similarly confirmed her intention not to run for reelection.

“The United States of America is the greatest country in the world because of our people and the vision of our Founding Fathers who created a nation that ensures every man, woman and child has the opportunity to succeed,” Granger wrote in an official statement without any parting shots. “As I announce my decision to not seek reelection, I am encouraged by the next generation of leaders in my district.”

In early October, Buck voted alongside eight other Republican representatives to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the grounds that McCarthy had broken promises to cut spending.