More than 10% of Congress won't return to their seats after 2026

More than a tenth of the current Congress has now indicated they will not return to their seats after the 2026 midterms, driven by redistricting, retirements and lawmakers running for different offices.

According to NPR's Congressional retirement tracker, as of Dec. 17, 2025, there are 54 current representatives and Senators who are retiring or running for a different office — 10 senators and 44 House members.

They include the retirement of longtime leaders like California Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the planned resignation of onetime Trump ally-turned-foe Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and a slew of politicians looking to flee Washington, D.C. for state or local offices.

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There are 25 retiring from public office with the rest running for a different office — 15 looking to become governor of their state and 13 looking to make the jump from House to Senate.

Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy is looking to become his state's attorney general.

Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet are not up for reelection in 2026, but would resign their seats if they win their respective gubernatorial races.

They join eight lawmakers who began the 119th Congress in January and have since died or resigned. Former Rep. Mikie Sherrill resigned her New Jersey House seat effective Nov. 20 after winning her race for governor earlier in the month.

On pace for record departures in the Trump era

According to an NPR review of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress and campaign records, 900 people have served in Congress since President Trump first took office in 2017. That includes 132 senators, 751 representatives — and 17 who have served in both chambers.

Almost two-thirds of the current Senate and 44% of the current House have served since the start of Trump's term, too.

The most common way to leave Congress in the Trump era is retirement, as more than 140 lawmakers have done from 2017-2024.

Pelosi's announcement came shortly after November 2025 off-year elections that saw Democrats surge in races across the country that she would not seek another term. Greene's surprise decision to resign effective Jan. 5, 2026 came after a very public clash with President Trump over his second term agenda and the release of the Epstein files.

Ahead of the 2026 midterms, many older Democrats are opting to pass the torch to a younger generation, like Sens. Dick Durbin and Jeanne Shaheen and Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Dwight Evans and Danny Davis.

An unusually high number of lawmakers are running for governor, Senate and other political offices, including 12 House members and three senators running for governor of their state.

The 54 announcements made before the end of 2025 is a modern record for this far ahead of the election for both chambers. It also includes the most Senate turnover since 2012.

Redistricting and narrow majorities in a midterm year are factors

Republicans have narrow control of both the House and the Senate heading into an election year where the party faces headwinds with voters unhappy with Trump's second-term agenda.

Efforts by Republican-led states to enact mid-decade gerrymandering to gain more favorable districts — and retaliatory redrawing by Democratic-led states like California — has led to a reshuffling of boundary lines that has accelerated some lawmakers' decisions.

The Supreme Court ruled that Texas' new congressional map will be used in 2026, coming just ahead of the state's Dec. 8 primary qualifying deadline that saw nine incumbents retire, file for the Senate or run for other offices.

California's drastic redraw that favors Democrats could see some targeted Republicans announce retirement or be forced into a primary challenge against another sitting Republican.

Several other states may still seek to redraw their House maps ahead of their qualifying deadlines.

Copyright 2025 NPR