He is now the 16th Republican to retire or seek another office ahead of the 2022 midterms, compared with 31 Democrats. He says more time with family and possible a ski trip are immediately in order after his term expires. Upton served as a sports editor of the newspaper for UM and had dreams of covering the Chicago Cubs one day. Upton chaired the House Energy and Commerce Committee from 2010-2016, sat on the House Health Subcommittee since 1991, and is a founder and vice-chair of the Problem Solvers Bipartisan Caucus a caucus that works to gain bipartisan traction on important bills including the recently-passed CHIPS Act. [27], Upton was reelected with 55.9% of the vote against Democratic nominee Jon Hoadley (40.2%), Libertarian Party nominee Jeff Depoy (2.75%), and Green Party candidate John Lawrence (1.2%). [20], In 2011, Hoogendyk met with the Club for Growth, a conservative 501(c)4 organization, about running against Upton again. "[42] In late 2010, he co-authored a Wall Street Journal opinion piece saying he was "not convinced" that "carbon is a problem in need of regulation" and urging Congress to overturn Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency. Upton has kept many of those beliefs as well as an abiding faith in what he calls the Reagan model, putting the best team of people around him and working on developing relationships regardless of whether you always agreed with someone or were in the same party. Redrawn into the 4th district, Upton did not seek reelection in 2022, and retired from Congress upon his 18th term's expiration in 2023. Rep. Upton (R-St. Joseph) made an emotional announcement on the House floor Tuesday morning, reflecting on his career and his past and current colleagues along with the Michiganders he represents. [60], In 2021, Upton was one of 29 Republicans to vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. [30], Upton voted against passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and has since voted in favor of its complete repeal. Five other House Republicans who did not vote to impeach Trump are also retiring this cycle. Rules of the game have changed after banking Trump picks up two more endorsements from Senate Republicans, Here are the House, Senate members who have endorsed Trump for 2024, I consider Clarence Thomas a friend, and Im shocked by recent reports. Thats probably our biggest achievement, Upton said. Big Government has made it better", Upton hails KVCC wind energy program as Congress debates climate change bill, "How Congress Can Stop the EPA's Power Grab", "Year in Review: Congress' 10 biggest enemies of the Earth", "Court Backs E.P.A. As to whether he made the right choice of a career, Upton answers this way: As a huge U-M supporter, football coach Jim Harbaugh asked him whether he wanted to serve as honorary co-captain for a game this year. By: Doug Reardon Posted. Upton, who may be best known as the uncle of supermodel Kate Upton, was forced to compete with Huizenga for the same southwestern Michigan district after the Great Lakes State lost a House seat following the 2020 Census. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011. November 14, 2021 at 6:09 pm EST By Taegan Goddard. IE 11 is not supported. The act allowed for expedited approval of important drugs and medical devices, and just four years after it was passed, helped shepherd along speedy approval of the nations first COVID-19 vaccine. Thats who I am, he said. During Uptons tenure, though, moderates went from being a dominant force to a dying breed. [23][24], Initial polls showed Upton with a sizable lead over O'Brien, but an October poll showed Upton and O'Brien in a dead heat heading into the final stretch of the campaign.[25][26]. Hes a good person, said Ornstein. [72][73] He ultimately did so alongside nine other Republicans on January 13. The decision follows months of Uptons hesitation to make an announcement about his political future. In an interview with NBC News last week, Upton was asked if Trump would be a factor in his decision about whether to run for a 19th term. Elected to the House in 1986, Upton became dean of the Michigan congressional delegation, and served as the chairman of the influential Energy and Commerce Committee and as a leader of a caucus of centrist Republicans known as the Tuesday Group. Upton was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump in January 2021, saying in a statement that our country cannot and will not tolerate any effort by any president to impede the peaceful transfer of power. Now, Upton is the fourth of those 10 to retire, joining Reps. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), John Katko (R-N.Y.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) in exiting Congress. This bill was designed to protect access to contraceptives and health care providers' ability to provide contraceptives and information related to contraception. [81], Upton voted for the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 which authorizes DHS to nearly double the available H-2B visas for the remainder of FY 2020. Even the best stories has a last chapter, Upton said in an emotional speech on the House floor. Upton did so and the two wrote legislation requiring the government to publicize water quality issues when they arise. In all but two presidential elections since he has been in office 2012 and 2020 it has backed the national winner. [10], Upton defeated Ed Fredricks in the Republican primary, 63%37%. Upton won by 16 percentage points. Fred and I have worked together on a host of issues including prioritizing the protection of the Great Lakes, leveling the playing field for Michigan agriculture, and supporting efforts to clean up PFAS and lead contamination. But one of his most recent decisions in office proved to be one of his most controversial. Deeply concerned about the presidents speech, which he felt incited the attack, and knowing as someone who had publicly said he believed Biden had won that he could be targeted, Upton calmly locked the door and ate boxes of Raisin Bran that had been stashed there, fielding calls from people back in the district worried about his health. We lost at least five Congressional seats, Upton said. Asked if it was discouraging to be one of only 29 House Republicans in the Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of members equally divided between parties committed to finding common ground on many of the key issues facing the nation, Upton answered in his usual upbeat manner. Zach Gibson/TNS Starting his career in politics working for the Office of Budget Management in the administration of President Ronald Regan, Upton says hes seen a great change in politics since he first arrived in Washington. Upton would have kept more of his current territory than Huizenga would. But no, this was our decision, independent of what I did with Trump, added Upton, who was first elected in 1986. [76], On May 19, 2021, Upton was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6 commission meant to investigate the Capitol attack. Is there a worldwide run on the Bank of the United States of America? As for what comes next for Upton, even he isnt sure. So Ive been here 36 years. WASHINGTON - Michigan Congressman Fred Upton, a Republican who has been serving the 6th district in West Michigan since 1987, says he's retiring from Congress. But there was no question that he would have faced a tough, expensive primary race against a Trump-backed Huizenga. [6] He served on the congressional staff of U.S. Representative David Stockman from 1976 to 1980. GOP education committee chair: I dont know what a trans girl is, Trump urges Murdoch to embrace false 2020 election claims in Dominion trial, DeSantis floats building prison on land next to Disney World, GOP mega donor says Clarence Thomas is victim of political hit job, Two-thirds say Congress shouldnt interfere with Trump legal probes: poll, Mace says overturning Roe changed the entire electoral environment in 2022. 1158: DHS Cyber Hunt and Incident Response Teams Act -- House Vote #690 -- Dec 17, 2019", "H.R. No, no, its getting things done, he said. [1] After Sander Levin retired at the end of the 115th Congress, Upton became the dean of Michigan's congressional delegation. He also reminded Wolpe that when he began to represent Kalamazoo, he kept Wolpes staff on his team because they were excellent at constituent service. Upton didnt explicitly say so at the time, but newly drawn congressional lines the result of a voter approved redistricting commission decimated the area he represented since 1986. He told FOX 17 about his decision and his vote to impeach former President Trump after Jan. 6. Fred is a dear friend to me, he was Johns best friend. He cited several career highlights, including bipartisan passage of the 21st Century Cures . [75] He was later censured by the Cass County Republican Party for voting to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House Education Committee. "UPTON QUITS! [citation needed], Upton was one of three Republicans to vote for H.R. Legislatively, Upton can point to several significant achievements, writing legislation that increased reporting requirements after hundreds died in accidents linked to Firestone tires mostly in Ford vehicles in the late 1990s and passing tougher pipeline safety standards alongside the late Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, after a catastrophic oil line break in Marshall in 2010. Mr. Uptons leadership is bipartisan, commonsense, and empathetic, said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. My decision was really based on redistricting, he said. Even through our toughest discussions, Fred always found a way to make me laugh - except today. 3301; 113th Congress), both articles of impeachment against Trump, United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus, "Upton becomes first member of Congress to vote to impeach two presidents", https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2013/04/david_stockman_former_southwes.html, "Club for Growth Encouraging Upton Primary Challenger", "Fred Upton still faces arrows from the right", "Jack Hoogendyk to challenge U.S. Rep. Fred Upton again for seat in Congress", "Southwest Michigan Politics: Mike O'Brien poll shows challenger in 'dead heat' with Congressman Fred Upton", "Michigan Election Results: Sixth House District", "House votes to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee assignments", "With Enrollment Slow, Some Democrats Back Change in Health Law", "The 2 House Republicans who put it all on the line for Obamacare repeal could lose Tuesday", https://www.cbsnews.com/news/21st-century-cures-act-congress-health-care-passed/, https://wdet.org/posts/2018/05/24/86819-rep-fred-upton-and-rep-debbie-dingell-team-up-to-battle-opioid-addiction/, "Long Live the Lightbulb. I thought it was important to follow the facts and follow the testimony, and its pretty evident to me, so far, that in fact [Trump] really did try to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power, he said. Rookie of the Year to cover girl", "Fred Upton- Net Worth - Personal Finances", https://www.pewforum.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2019/01/Detailed-tables-NUMBER-CHECK-COMPLETE-1-3.pdf, "Office of the House Clerk Electoral Statistics", "2016 Michigan Official General Election Results - 11/08/2016", "GOP Rep. Fred Upton has fended off Democrat Jon Hoadley to win Michigan's 6th Congressional District", Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Chairmen of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fred_Upton&oldid=1147594983, Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan, University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from August 2011, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from May 2022, Articles with bare URLs for citations from March 2022, Articles with PDF format bare URLs for citations, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia pages semi-protected from banned users, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 1 April 2023, at 00:00. Rep. Fred Upton (Mich.), one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, revealed on Sunday that he has not yet. More recently, he served as a vice chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, which pushes for civility and centrist legislation, such as the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package that was signed into law last year. I think thats better than being a sportswriter, he laughed. That approval wouldnt have come for six, eight, ten months later so we literally saved hundreds of thousands of Americans, said Upton, who noted hes seeking an extension of the act in Congress before he leaves office at the end of the year. counties, Man in critical condition after stabbing in Lansing, suspect arrested, Charlotte Mayor announces he will not seek re-election in November, Holt High School Robo-Rams ready to take on international robotics tournament, Michigan State University creates resource office for victims of campus shooting. The incumbent congressman in southwest Michigan, Mark Siljander, distributed a tape to ministers in his district a few days before the election, urging them to help break the back of Satan by supporting him against Upton. From 2010-16, Upton was selected by House colleagues to serve as Chairman of the Committee of Energy and Commerce. Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Have House Republicans learnedthe lessons of their own history? Here we are, two years later, no one has provided the evidence that showed that those states that were in question, that the vote wouldve been overturned., I dont have any regrets, he added. I wish both he and Amey the best as they start their next chapter., Over decades of service, he has protected the Great Lakes and shaped major legislation on energy, the environment, manufacturing, and so much more. This content is only available to subscribers. To him, bipartisan and compromise are not forbidden words, Dingell said. We could all learn something from his tenure and strive to live and lead with the values he embodies. Ukraine impacted multiple ways by leaked US material, Kansas City homeowner accused of shooting Black teen charged with two felonies, 5 takeaways from Jim Jordans NYC hearing into Alvin Bragg and crime, McConnell returns to Capitol as GOP faces full plate of challenges, Schumer pans McCarthys one-year debt ceiling extension as terrible idea, GOP confronts raucous field hearing on NYC crime. Exclusive podcasts from our top journalists. Moderates went from being a sportswriter, he said to a dying breed a dominant force to a dying.. `` H.R things done, he said national winner Response Teams Act -- House vote # --. During Uptons tenure, though, moderates went from being a dominant force to dying. And empathetic, said Governor Gretchen Whitmer vote to impeach former President after... The House floor an emotional speech on the congressional staff of U.S. Representative David Stockman from 1976 to 1980 about. 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