Vern Buchanan says opportunity for fresh leaders, not difficult political environment, drove choice to retire

The decision by U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan to retire from Congress wasn’t made lightly.

With two decades of seniority and serving as the Vice Chair of Congress’ most powerful committee, the Longboat Key Republican wields substantial power for Florida in the House.

But ultimately, the 75-year-old said the Bradenton area deserves fresh blood in Congress. After mulling a decision over the last three months with wife Sandy, Buchanan announced that he would not seek another term.

“We thought that it was probably time to make a change in terms of the region. We’ve got a lot of talented people,” Buchanan told Florida Politics. “And you know, I know I’ve been there a long time. But I think it’s time to give other folks an opportunity.”

National headlines about his retirement listed him as part of an exodus of Republicans departing Congress ahead of a Midterm cycle when Democrats could win a House majority. But Buchanan scoffed at the suggestion.

“If that would have factored into it, I would have been gone long ago,” Buchanan said. “I did work for all these different Presidents, and we’ve been in and out of the majority. No, you just try to work through those and try to find a way you can work with the other side. People that know me know that I’m pretty bipartisan.”

His decision caps a tenure that saw him rise from a junior Congressman elected by the skin of his teeth to being Vice Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee and the longest-serving member of Congress representing Southwest Florida. He’s the Republican co-Chair of Florida’s congressional delegation, and an effective lawmaker who saw 51 legislative accomplishments signed by four Presidents, two Republicans and two Democrats.

Buchanan is declining to endorse a successor right now. He also committed to serving out his final term, saving the state the cost of another Special Election.

He notably said he had consulted with his son, state Rep. James Buchanan, about the decision to retire. Many wondered if the younger Buchanan would run to succeed his father in Congress, though James Buchanan seemed to put those rumors to rest in comments to POLITICO.  The retiring Congressman said he did not expect his son to run for the seat.

“He’s running for this state Senate seat, and that looks pretty good. And if he ran for our seat, I’m sure he’d be competitive and probably win it,” Vern Buchanan said. “But I think when you’ve got a young family, it’s tough to haul them off to Washington.”

Buchanan said time with his own family weighed heavily on the choice not to run again. He has 10 grandchildren under the age of 11. None were born when he first won election in 2006.

“Working in D.C. takes most of your time away,” he said.

Looking back at his career, Buchanan points to accomplishments during his tenure, chief among them $28 million secured for the Sarasota National Cemetery. He also touted cutting taxes on small businesses by roughly 20% during his years working on the Ways and Means Committee.

He made a high-profile run to chair that committee in 2023, but lost to U.S. Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri. Smith praised Buchanan’s work after news broke of his retirement.

“Vern has been a longtime friend and colleague on the Ways and Means Committee and a steadfast fighter for the people of Southwest Florida,” Smith posted on X. “His business expertise of more than 30 years was instrumental to the creation and overwhelming success of the 2017 Trump Tax Cuts and the passage of the Working Families Tax Cuts. He leaves behind an incredible legacy here in Congress.”

Buchanan said he has always tried to move past the divisiveness of wins and losses.

“I think it worked out good. I’m the Vice Chairman of the committee. I’ve got a good working relationship, and it’s actually allowed me a little more time and freedom to have some of the other things I want,” Buchanan said of his work on Ways and Means.

“Otherwise, I’d have been traveling a lot more. But as Vice Chairman, I’ve got a lot of responsibility working with all the committees and in the team, and it’s worked out pretty good for Jason and I. It’s always tough up front, when you lose a race by a vote or two or something. But you know, that’s history, and the goal is to do the best we can for the committee, because the country’s counting on Ways and Means to get things right.”

He also worked closely with Democrats as the Florida delegation’s Republican co-Chair. He developed relationships across the aisle with fellow co-Chairs, first with the late U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat, and more recently with U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Weston Democrat.

“If it’s something Florida oriented, we want to do it on a bipartisan basis,” he said. “We’ll bring more clout to it when you’ve got both sides working together. We haven’t done quite as much as I’d like, but I’m hoping this last year, we will.”

On more partisan matters, he acknowledges it has been harder to work in a narrowly divided Congress in recent years, sometimes more frustrating than even when he was in a minority.

“It’s a tougher environment than it was. Back then, we had a lot more seats that we could work with, or the other side had more seats to work with,” he said. “You can get more done. Whether you like it or not, you can get more done. But when you’ve got a virtual tie in terms of the number of members, whether on either side, it’s just difficult.”

Buchanan doesn’t expect to run for another office, but still expects to stay involved. He still wants to see a balanced budget amendment passed to restrain federal spending, something he actively pursued throughout his career.

He feels confident Florida will also continue to thrive, in part thanks to state policies focused on economic growth.

“People are coming here. It’s not just the weather, it’s also the business climate, which has created a lot of jobs and opportunities for people,” he said. “I’m very bullish on Florida.”