Since our last update on Dec. 19, no members of the U.S. Congress have announced plans to not seek re-election in 2026. That means the total number of congressional retirements for 2026 remains at one.
The last incumbent to announce their retirement was Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who said he would not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026. Grijalva was first elected to the U.S. House in 2002.
Additionally, three members of Congress resigned from the 119th Congress to serve in President Donald Trump’s (R) second administration:
- J.D. Vance (R) resigned from the U.S. Senate on Jan. 9 to serve as vice president. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) appointed Jon Husted (R) to fill his seat.
- Marco Rubio (R) resigned from the U.S. Senate after being sworn in to serve as secretary of state on Jan. 21. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) appointed Ashley Moody (R) to fill his seat.
- Michael Waltz (R) resigned from the U.S. House on Jan. 20 to serve as national security advisor. There will be a special election for his seat on April 1.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) will resign from her seat if confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as ambassador to the United Nations.
Ballotpedia does not include incumbents leaving office early in our analysis of incumbents not running for re-election.
Congressional retirements by year
An average of 39 members retired from Congress each election cycle between 1930 and 2024.
In 2018, 55 incumbents retired from Congress. In the two election cycles following 2018, the total number of retirements decreased to 40 in 2020 and then increased to 55 in 2022. In 2024, 53 incumbents—eight U.S. senators and 45 U.S. representatives—retired from Congress.
Congressional retirements by month
Between January 2011 and November 2024, 348 members of Congress retired. Out of every election cycle from 2012 to 2024, the 2018 cycle had the most retirements, at 55, and the 2020 cycle had the fewest, with four. From 2011 to 2024, there was an average of 50 announcements per cycle.
- January had the highest number of announcements during an election year at 47, while August, September, and October had the fewest at one each.
- November had the highest number of announcements during an off year at 41, while June had the fewest at nine.
