Republican lawmaker deals 'one final blow' to GOP leadership as he leaves Congress: report

Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) just one day before he is set to leave Congress, sent a message to his party's current leadership.

Buck, who previously said he is quitting Congress because Republicans have a "personal" grudge against him and the House of Representatives is "dysfunctional," has signed a discharge petition circulated by House Democrats that would force the chamber to hold a vote on military aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan — which GOP leaders have broadly opposed.

"Buck, whose resignation from Congress takes effect on Friday, told reporters 'we've got to fund Ukraine and help people who are yearning for freedom,'" said the report.

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The discharge petition still faces long odds, Axios reported, because a number of Democrats in the party's left flank have said they don't plan to sign it, out of frustration about the war in Gaza and skepticism about how additional military aid provided to Israel would be used.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) has his own discharge petition, the report noted, but it has far fewer signatures, and Buck told reporters he isn't on board with it because it ties military aid to border security.

The resignation of Buck has created a headache for GOP leadership in other ways, most notably that it creates yet another vacancy in an already razor-thin majority. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) has been planning to jump from her own district on the other side of Colorado to run for Buck's vacant seat, but some observers, including Boebert herself, think that Buck timed his resignation to prevent this, since she can't run in the special election without resigning and would have to face whoever is seated in that special election in a subsequent primary.