California Rep. Darrell Issa, a fierce defender of President Donald Trump and one of the GOP’s top attack dogs during the Biden and Obama administrations, will retire next year.
After his San Diego-area district grew several shades bluer following California’s recent redraw of its congressional map, Issa briefly pondered seeking a safe red seat in Texas. But in December he opted to stay put, declaring that he “wasn’t quitting on California.”
Then, on Friday, the filing deadline for California candidates, Issa issued a statement announcing that he was ending his reelection campaign.
“This decision has been on my mind for a while and I didn’t make it lightly,” he said. “But after a quarter-century in Congress — and before that, a quarter-century in business — it’s the right time for a new chapter and new challenges.”
Issa swiftly endorsed San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond. “He understands this community, was born and raised here, and will make a terrific Congressman,” Issa said.
Several Democrats are running in the 48th District, which California lawmakers redrew from a district Trump won by 15 points to one Kamala Harris would have carried by 3. The field includes Navy veteran Ammar Campa-Najjar and Marni von Wilpert, a member of the San Diego City Council.
“Issa abandoning his voters now is the clearest sign yet that Republicans know he can’t win,” Anna Elsasser, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement.
National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Christian Martinez issued a statement praising Issa and expressing confidence that the GOP will hold the seat. “We are optimistic that this district will continue to be represented by a Republican who will stand for common sense and reject the radical agenda and chaos that progressive Marni von Wilpert and socialist Ammar Campa-Najjar would bring,’’ he said.
A former tech entrepreneur who once served as chairman of the Consumer Electronics Association, Issa, 72, came to the House in 2000. He served for 18 years before announcing his retirement in 2018 after Trump, then in his first term, nominated him to head the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. Issa’s nomination never advanced in the Senate, and he mounted a successful comeback in 2020.
He chaired the House Oversight Committee from 2011 to 2014, and his relentless grilling of Obama administration officials made him a top target of Democratic ire. He led investigations into the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya and the gun-trafficking program known as Operation Fast and Furious.
In the Trump era, Issa has emerged as one of the president’s most vocal supporters. Last year, Issa nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, declaring that “no one deserves it more.”
Issa’s retirement announcement wasn’t Friday’s only California political shake-up: Rep. Kevin Kiley, a two-term Republican whose current 3rd District stretches from the Sierra Nevada to Death Valley, filed for reelection in the 6th District under “no party preference.”
“This means I will not have a party affiliation on the ballot or as an officeholder,” Kiley said in a statement on social media. “It is no secret I’ve been frustrated, at times disgusted, by the hyper-partisanship in Congress. In the last year it’s led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, a massive increase in healthcare costs, and of course, a pointless redistricting war. The epidemic of gerrymandering has spread from Texas to California to states all across the country. Both parties are complicit.”
