Toomey rules out re-election, run for guv
U.S. Sen. Pat Tommey, R-Pa. shook up Washington, D.C., Monday by announcing he will retire from public office after his current Senate term expires in January 2023.
As of 2020, Toomey said Monday during a press conference announcing his decision, that he will have served in public office for 18 years by the time he retires in two years.
The senator plans to finish his current six-year term, which he was re-elected to in
2016. The seat will be up for election in 2022.
Reflecting on his political career, Toomey said he has always supported the notion of term limits.
“18 years is a long time,” Toomey said, adding his family, his wife and their three children – two sons and a daughter – has always lived in Pennsylvania.
The senator said he’s spent a lot of time away from home during his travels to Washington and elsewhere while serving as a U.S. senator.
As senator, Toomey said,
these past 10 years have been “extraordinary” and added he hopes to see action underway now and in the immediate future for more “opportunity and prosperity.”
Toomey said he won’t seek a run for governor, either, but rather shall return to the private sector after he finishes his current U.S. senate seat term.
The senator added, whilst reflecting on his career as an elected official during the press conference on Oct. 5 in Bethlehem, that he’s always fought for victims of violence, and he continues to stand with the police.
“Sen. Toomey has successfully worked to make Pennsylvania a safer, more prosperous place to live, work, and raise a family,” said
Steve Kelly, communications director for Toomey’s congressional office.
Kelly said Toomey’s successes include reformation of the tax code to lower rates for families while increasing the competitiveness of the business tax code, which encourages job creation and economic growth.
“He has successfully fought to make schools safer for kids and has been steadfast of his support for law enforcement,” Kelly said of Toomey.
As for the future, Toomey seeks challenges facing southeastern Pennsylvania, as most people do.
“Sen. Toomey believes the biggest challenge facing the region right now is the COVID-19 recovery. He is encouraged by the great strides the medical and research community have made in a short time in treating people,” Kelly said. “There will likely be a vaccine in the coming months, testing capacity continues to grow, and hospitals remain well equipped to treat those who require serious medical attention.”
In terms of challenges facing the region economically, Kelly noted that Congress passed the CARES Act, which authorized $3 trillion in new spending and $2 trillion in newly-authorized lending by the Fed. Among other things, the CARES Act provided direct payments to families, forgivable loans to small businesses, and billions in aid to state and local governments directly and various related organizations.
Kelly said if Congress passes further aid, Toomey hopes the bill is narrow in scope and focuses on helping businesses, schools, and other entities safely re-open.
“Pat Toomey is a very effective policymaker, leader
and advocate for our commonwealth and our region,” said state Sen. Tom Killion, R-9 of Middletown. “Sen. Toomey has demonstrated the importance of building consensus and working in a bipartisan fashion to solve problems — perhaps best illustrated by his work on ex
panding background checks for firearms purchases.”
Killion continued, “The challenges of our day are serious. Unfortunately, our political discourse too often resembles that of a grade school playground. Perhaps as much as his substantive achievements, Pat Toomey’s significant contributions to serious, constructive debate and inclusionary policymaking will be greatly missed.”
During Monday morning’s press conference, Toomey said it is likely that the U.S. Senate will vote on President Donald Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court prior to the Nov. 3 presidential election.
“Eighteen years is a long period of time in a person’s life,” he said.
“I have no regrets about the decisions I’ve made to pursue this, but I’ll be finished two years from now after I work as hard as I can to have two really good, productive years.”
As a nation, Toomey said, “We are extremely polarized.”