Florida Rep. Tom Rooney Says He Will Not Seek Re-election

OKEECHOBEE, FL — After a decade in Congress, U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, a Republican who represents Florida's 17th congressional district in south-central Florida, will not seek re-election this year. He told Politico in a statement: It's time to "'hang em up' as my old football coach used to say."

Rooney's district includes a large area spanning from eastern Tampa Bay to the western shores of Lake Okeechobee. He said he looks forward to serving Florida in the future, but in a different capacity.

An estimated 768,000 residents live in Rooney's district. The district voted for Republican Donald Trump for president in 2016, Republican Mitt Romney in 2012 and Democrat Barack Obama in 2008.

Rooney is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee. His decision comes two days after he issued a statement calling for major increases in federal funding for enhanced school security measures and youth mental health programs in upcoming funding bills. That legislation had been spurred by the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting last week that left 17 students and teachers dead.

In his statement regarding the legislation, Rooney said it had become clear lawmakers had much work to do.

"As lawmakers, people expect us to act to stop this needless bloodshed and violence. Congress can – and should – immediately work in a bipartisan way to provide ample federal resources to help make sure that no one wishing to commit these mass atrocities can even step foot inside a school."

He said Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School had a school resource officer on campus but that it was "obvious" it needed more.

"That’s why I am requesting increased federal funding for the federal COPS Hiring Program to make sure state and local law enforcement entities can put school resource officers in every corner of every school," he said.

TOM ROONEY’s statement. pic.twitter.com/WgHPURQOWJ
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) February 19, 2018

Photo credit: Charles Dharapak/Associated Press