Shutdown burnout is making members of Congress rethink their reelection plans

House members were already fleeing their chamber in droves, either to seek higher office or simply walk off into the sunset. Then the government shut down for a historic 38 days and counting.Why it matters: The gridlock and dysfunction is pushing lawmakers who were already pessimistic about congressional productivity into a state of near despondency.The shutdown "certainly doesn't help" members' longstanding frustrations with congressional productivity, Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) told Axios, noting that the House has been kept out of session for its duration."We ran for office to get things done for our people back home. Having the Speaker give up all our power to the executive makes it harder and harder for us to truly represent our constituents," she said.Driving the news: Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), a 43-year-old on just his fourth term in Congress, sent shockwaves through Capitol Hill on Wednesday by unexpectedly announcing his plans to retire."My decision is motivated by the clarity recent months have provided about the state of our politics," he wrote in an op-ed published Wednesday. "This week, we passed a grim milestone, having endured the longest government shutdown in our nation's history."He added: "I don't fear losing. What has become apparent to me is that I now dread the prospect of winning."Golden is a centrist who frequently rails against his party, but his departure is a huge blow to House Democrats who will now have to field a new candidate to defend his Republican-leaning seat.Zoom out: It's not just Golden. Rep. Chuy García (D-Ill.), who announced his retirement this week largely due to family and health issues, acknowledged in a Thursday interview that "the other stuff is obviously frustrating.""The abrogation of our authority, our Article One power, with Mike Johnson shutting down the House, making us irrelevant, [is] leaving a huge vacuum," he told Axios.Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who announced his retirement before the shutdown, similarly cited family obligations but said "one thing" Golden wrote resonated with him."I felt, too, but never said," he told Axios, "that the thought of winning and doing two more years was depressing."The other side: Johnson has defended keeping the House in recess throughout the shutdown, arguing his chamber did its job by passing a stopgap spending bill that Senate Democrats are blocking."There is really nothing for us to negotiate. We sent them a clean CR ... back in September," he said at a press conference Thursday.By the numbers: As of Wednesday, a record 31 House members had already announced plans to either run for another office or retire outright with months still to go until many states' congressional filing deadlines, Axios' Hans Nichols reported.That number could further skyrocket with mid-decade redistricting pushing formerly entrenched incumbents into hostile partisan territory.Many of the dozens of House Democrats in their 70s and 80s are also bowing to pressure from the party's grassroots to step aside and create space for a new generation of leaders.The big picture: Looming over all of these dynamics is a growing frustration with the partisan gridlock and performative grandstanding that have sharply driven down the productivity of Congress.The 2024 election cycle saw an astonishing number of relatively young and middle-aged lawmakers with easy reelection prospects opt to throw in the towel without seeking higher office.Many of those lawmakers cited the chaotic three-week speaker vacancy created by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's ouster in the fall of 2023, which bookended a year of rebellions, brinksmanship and political stunts.The shutdown appears to be something of a second act, with lawmakers grumbling about how D.C.'s dysfunction is worse than ever.Between the lines: "It's not just the shutdown," stressed one House Democrat, speaking on the condition of anonymity to offer candid thoughts about the downsides of serving in Congress."The whole experience of being in Congress — violence, dysfunction, emasculated authority, polarization, travel, no cost of living increase for nearly 20 years — can make this a truly miserable job," they told Axios."To the degree that the shutdown is involved," said a second House Democrat, "I think it's that it's reflective of dysfunction that makes this job less appealing."

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