Overview
- Arrington announced on Nov. 11 that he will not run again and will serve through the end of his term, which concludes in January 2027.
- He said his decision reflects a belief that public office should be temporary, with plans to focus on family and pursue a next leadership challenge after leaving Congress.
- As Budget Committee chair, he helped steer the 2025 “One Big Beautiful Bill” and says he will keep pushing fiscal changes in his remaining year, including a potential follow‑up reconciliation effort.
- His retirement opens Texas’s 19th District, a safely Republican West Texas seat where the March primary is expected to be decisive and the filing deadline is Dec. 8.
- The move will vacate a powerful committee gavel, with vice chair Lloyd Smucker reported as a potential successor, and it follows recent election listings that still showed Arrington as a 2026 candidate.