Indiana U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz, who won a third term last month, said she will not work with House Republicans or participate on committees when the 119th Congress convenes in January.
In a statement Tuesday about her decision, Spartz said the country is “on a fiscal collision course” and “courage and structural changes” are not being made in Congress to prevent future problems.
“As a serious legislator and finance professional, not a clown, I am not going to continue being involved in circuses,” Spartz said in the statement.
Spartz said she plans to remain a registered Republican but would rather focus on helping President-elect Donald Trump and his appointments deliver on promises for the incoming administration. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, for example, have been tasked by Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency.
The decision to not participate in the House Republican conference or committees could leave Spartz out of the discussion of legislation and priorities led by House Republicans in the next Congress, where Republicans have majorities in both the House and Senate as well as controlling the White House.
The congresswoman’s announcement is one of a long line of protests she has made about the operations of the federal government in Washington, D.C., since she was first elected in 2020. In one example, Spartz threatened to quit Congress in late 2023 if lawmakers did not establish a commission to study the national debt.
In early 2023, Spartz announced she would not seek a third term, but reversed that decision just before the early 2024 filing deadline. She gave herself three months to make her case to voters while also running against eight other opponents in the GOP primary for the 5th District.
Spartz won the May primary with 39% of the vote. In November, she defeated Democrat, Libertarian and independent opponents winning nearly 57% of the vote.
Spartz will be sworn in for her third term the House in January.
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X@CarloniBrittany.
