In a 2,400-word speech full of Trump denunciations, Republican Jeff Flake announced on the Senate floor he won’t run for re-election in Arizona.
“I rise today to say: enough,” he said. “We must dedicate ourselves to making sure that the anomalous never becomes the normal. With respect and humility, I must say that we have fooled ourselves for long enough that a pivot to governing is right around the corner, a return to civility and stability right behind it.”
Saying his last day will be in January 2019, Flake later said: “I will not be complicit or silent. I’ve decided that I would be better able to represent the people of Arizona and to better serve my country and my conscience by freeing myself of the political consideration that consumed far too much bandwidth and would cause me to compromise far too many principles.”
Flake said Americans “must never regard as ‘normal’ the regular and casual undermining of our democratic norms and ideals.
“We must never meekly accept the daily sundering of our country — the personal attacks, the threats against principles, freedoms and institutions, the flagrant disregard for truth or decency, the reckless provocations, most often for the pettiest and most personal reasons, reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with the fortunes of the people that we have all been elected to serve.”
CNN said: “His retirement is a double-edged sword for Trump’s White House. It opens the door for Flake to be replaced with a more supportive Republican. But his seat is also a prime Democratic pick-up opportunity.”