GOP Rep. Bill Shuster to retire, spend final year working with Trump on massive infrastructure bill

Source: Washington Examiner | January 2, 2018 | Salena Zito

Rep. Bill Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, will not seek re-election in November, telling the Washington Examiner that he wants to focus exclusively on working with President Trump to pass a massive infrastructure bill before he retires.

The western Pennsylvania Republican, who has held the seat since 2002, said he does not want campaigning or anything else to get in the way of helping Trump get this major piece of legislation passed by Congress in 2018. “I thought it was the best decision for me to focus 100 percent on my final year as the chairman of the Transportation Committee, working with the president and other Democrats and Republicans to pass an infrastructure bill, which is much needed to rebuild America,” Shuster said.

It was something he’d given a lot of thought to for months as he faced the final year of his chairmanship at transportation, a position his father, former Rep. Bud Shuster, held before him.

He told the Washington Examiner he could focus on working with both parties better if he didn’t have to worry about running to hold his seat in a primary and general election.

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Shuster did not tell Trump and Ryan of his decision to leave Capitol Hill until Tuesday afternoon, less than an hour before the scheduled time of his announcement. The only people he told before that were his family, his chief of staff, and the Washington Examiner.

Shuster said this was not an easy step to take. “It was a very difficult decision because,” he said, “it came down to deep love for this country and the people that I serve … so it was a difficult decision to make to say that you’re not going to seek election.”

The congressman and his father have held this House seat between them since 1973.

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