UPDATED - AP: Sen. Thad Cochran To Resign On April 1

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo



By Matt Shuham | March 5, 2018 4:43 pm

Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) said Monday he will resign on April 1, the Associated Press reported.

Link to tweet

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Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ap-sen-thad-cochran-to-resign-on-april-1

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UPDATE:

Cochran to retire from Senate next month

BY JORDAIN CARNEY - 03/05/18 04:47 PM EST

Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) on Monday said he will retire from the Senate next month, saying his "health has become an ongoing challenge."

"I intend to fulfill my responsibilities and commitments to the people of Mississippi and the Senate through the completion of the 2018 appropriations cycle, after which I will formally retire from the U.S. Senate," Cochran said in a statement.

He is set to resign from his seat on April 1, according to his office.

Cochran is the chairman of the Appropriations Committee. His announcement comes as Congress aims to pass a mammoth government funding bill by March 23, and after months of speculation about his health.

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http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/376831-cochran-to-retire-from-senate-next-month

[jpak]

1. What skeleton is in his closet?

[OKNancy]

2. He has been sick for a while

[hlthe2b]

4. yes..really bad health issues

[RhodeIslandOne]

16. Hes been sick for a while

Should have quit years ago, then again never should have been elected

[brooklynite]

3. Two Senate seats now available in 2018...

A Trump nut was going to Primary Roger Wicker, but may now take the easy route.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. WaPo article

Sen. Cochran (R-Miss.) to resign after 4 decades in Congress, vacating post as appropriations chair and setting up special election

by Washington Post Staff March 5 at 4:57 PM

Republican Sen. Thad Cochran said he will resign from the Senate when the spending-bill process is completed. He was elected to the Senate in 1978, becoming the first Republican in more than 100 years to win a statewide election in Mississippi. The 80-year-old senator has been ailing, missing several weeks last year. His departure means Mississippi will have two Senate elections on the ballot this November. Republican Sen. Roger Wicker is up for reelection.

In a statement, Cochran said: “I regret my health has become an ongoing challenge. I intend to fulfill my responsibilities and commitments to the people of Mississippi and the Senate through the completion of the 2018 appropriations cycle, after which I will formally retire from the U.S. Senate.”

This is a developing story. It will be updated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/03/05/sen-cochran-r-miss-to-resign-after-4-decades-in-congress-vacating-post-as-appropriations-chair-and-setting-up-special-election/?utm_term=.a689863c96f1

[SCantiGOP]

6. seat will stay vacant until election

Most states let the Governor fill a vacant US Senate seat, but Mississippi says that the Gov calls a special election within 100 days unless the vacancy occurs in the year of a federal election.

[LiberalFighter]

13. So the vacancy works to our advantage.

[djg21]

14. Doesnt that mean . . .

That the special election is held on the same date as the general election in the year when there is a federal election, to avoid duplicative costs?

I don’t know the district, but I have trouble believing that any Dem would stand much of a chance.

[AC_Mem]

15. we are doing very well

in special elections..... wouldn't it be grand to flip Mississippi??!!!

[SCantiGOP]

17. Seat may not stay vacant

CNN and another site say Gov can fill the vacancy until the Nov election.

[Stuart G]

7. Question...When he resigns April 1, what does that make the composition of the Senate?

Republicans vs Democrats?...is it 49/49 or 50/49?...I am not sure..

[brooklynite]

10. Technically 50-49

But effectively 49-49 as long as McCain is away for medical treatment.

[Wellstone ruled]

8. Understand his Health

has been deteriorating quite fast. Remember,McConnell made special arrangements for both McCain and Cochran's Health needs in order for them to vote on certain Bills.

[Kablooie]

9. The rats are beginning to jump ship en masse.

Perhaps his health is the only reason but Friday's release of the subpoena for all the communications of so many Trump confederates has spooked the Republicans big time.

This could be the beginning.
The great migration away from Trumpian politics is could increase this week.

[brooklynite]

11. Vacancy will be filled by a Jungle Primary in November...

50% wins, or top two go to a runoff.

[Judi Lynn]

12. Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran announces he is stepping down

Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran announces he is stepping down
The octogenarian Republican was first elected to the Senate in 1978, and his leaving will shake up the ranks of Republican leadership

Ben Jacobs in Washington

@Bencjacobs
Mon 5 Mar 2018 16.46 EST

Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran announced on Monday that he would step down from the United States Senate on 1 April.

The octogenarian Republican was first elected to the Senate in 1978 but has long been plagued by ill health and has not played an active role on Capitol Hill in recent years. Cochran’s decision to step down means that the state’s Republican governor Phil Bryant will appoint a replacement who will serve until November. Then, a special election will be held to fill the remaining two years of Cochran’s term.

The decision by Cochran to resign will shake up the ranks of Republican leadership. Cochran currently serves as chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee and was poised to succeed Orrin Hatch of Utah to be third in line for the presidency as president pro tempore if Republicans maintained control of the Senate in the 2018 midterm elections.

Cochran’s most recent race for re-election in 2014 was marked by a ferocious Republican primary which was a harbinger to Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign as a showdown between Republican elites and insurgents. Tea Partier Chris McDaniel mounted a primary challenge to Cochran and outpolled the incumbent in the first round of voting but Cochran ended up winning a narrow majority in the runoff during a campaign marred by scandal and sleaze.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/mar/05/mississippi-senator-thad-cochran-announces-he-is-stepping-down

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

18. Probably a safe Republican seat

But then so was the Keebler elf's.