House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, a conservative Republican from West Texas, announced he will not seek re-election in 2026 and plans to leave Congress after a decade of service, stepping down after helping steer major budget legislation and pushing a fiscal hawk agenda that he says shifted the culture in his party.
Arrington said, “I have a firm conviction, much like our founders did, that public service is a lifetime commitment, but public office is and should be a temporary stint in stewardship, not a career.” He framed his decision as intentional and rooted in a belief that leadership rotates and fresh stewardship matters. After nearly ten years in Washington, he felt it was the right moment to move on.
He described his time as budget chair as a high point, saying, “It was a very unique, generational impact opportunity, to be almost ten years into this and to have the budget chairmanship, and to lead the charge to successfully pass that and to help this president fulfill his mandate from the people,” Arrington said. “It just seems like a good and right place to leave it.” That sense of accomplishment guided his exit more than political pressure.
Across his tenure he pointed to multiple legislative wins and a broader cultural shift in Congress, noting, “It’s more of changing the narrative and the culture in Congress and in my party that I’m most proud of.” He emphasized the importance of changing how lawmakers think about spending and responsibility. That, he argued, is a quieter but deeper legacy than any single bill.
Representing a rural district shaped Arrington’s priorities, and he stressed the value of raising rural issues to urban and suburban colleagues. “I’m from a rural district and I can tell you, raising the profile among urban and suburban members as to the unique challenges of rural America and the unique contributions of rural America — like food security and energy independence and how much the nation depends on these plow boys and cowboys in rural areas — that’s another thing I’m proud of,” he said. He tied those priorities to national strength and stability.
Fiscal discipline was central to his message, and Arrington said he believed Republicans in Washington would carry that torch forward. “The president’s committed to it, he talks about it all the time. He’s actually doing something about it with very difficult decisions, not politically popular decisions. This is all about political will,” Arrington said. “Trump’s doing it. Mike Johnson is committed to it… And we have a growing number of fiscal hawks who are absolutely dogged on this issue.”
Even with his decision to step down, Arrington pledged to keep pushing fiscal reforms in the remaining year of his term and hinted at further budget reconciliation efforts. “I don’t know where the Senate Republicans are. I don’t know where the president is and can’t speak for the White House. But the House is at the ready,” Arrington said. “It’s been our most consequential tool to support the president and the strength of the country, and I don’t see any reason we wouldn’t utilize it to its fullest extent.”
Looking ahead, Arrington said he planned to seek new ways to serve outside the people’s house while also prioritizing family time. “And then I would say…I am looking forward to quality time with my wife and kids and focusing on my leadership and service, not in the people’s house, but in my own house,” Arrington said. He made clear his next chapter would balance public engagement with being present at home.
He reflected on faith and gratitude as foundations of his public life, saying, “I’m thankful that God called me and gave me the grace to succeed and to achieve the things that we’ve achieved,” Arrington said. He painted a picture of the grind in Washington balanced by prayerful encounters with constituents and a supportive spouse. “His grace looks like the members of Congress that I’ve been doing battle with, my budget hawks who I’ve been in the trenches with, my constituents who I run into in the grocery store, who want to pray with me right there in the aisle while I’m checking out. The grace of God looks like my wife being both mom and dad about two-thirds of the time, because I’m in Washington doing battle for the country.”
He admitted to mistakes and to learning on the job, but expressed satisfaction with the work done. “Did I make my share of mistakes? You bet. Did I learn along the way? You bet I did. But we left [the country] better than we found it, and it gives me great satisfaction.” With a safely Republican district, Arrington will exit politics from a position of influence and with a clear message about stewardship, family, and fiscal responsibility.
Graduate Student, wife, engaged political and legal writer.