Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va., announced that he will retire Thursday at the conclusion of his current term, which ends in January 2017.
Rigell penned a open letter to his district, Virginia’s Second, which covers the Hampton Roads region of the state, most notably Norfolk.
“You might ask, ‘Why is now the time to leave?’ The answer is found in why I set aside all else and sought the office: to build a strong House majority that would check and balance the party that then controlled both political branches of the federal government,” Rigell wrote. “With your help we did just that. We have been the driving force that has reduced discretionary spending.”
In October, Rigell pitched a sequestration solution to the Washington Examiner. Rigell’s district has the largest concentration of military personnel of any in the nation and features the largest naval base in the world — Naval Station Norfolk.
Rigell was seen as a maverick Republican, concerned with addressing the nation’s fiscal issues.
“Eighty percent of our conference is wrapped around Grover Norquist,” Rigell told the Examiner in October, speaking of his fellow House Republicans’ relationship with the American Taxpayer Union’s Norquist. “I think he’s the man behind the curtain in the ‘Wizard of Oz.'”
Rigell’s departure was noted by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.
“There are few members of Congress who are as focused on doing what’s right and working with any and all partners to find common ground. I am thankful for Scott’s service to the Commonwealth and I will really miss working together,” Kaine told Virginia’s The Daily Press.
