U.S. Rep. Denny Heck of Washington to retire

SEATTLE — U.S. Rep. Denny Heck, D-Wash., announced Wednesday that he is retiring from Congress at the end of his term, saying his work on the investigation into Russian election interference and the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump have “rendered my soul weary.”

“I will never understand how some of my colleagues, in many ways good people, could ignore or deny the president’s unrelenting attack on a free press, his vicious character assassination of anyone who disagreed with him, and his demonstrably very distant relationship with the truth,” Heck said in a letter to his constituents.

Heck, 67, now in his fourth term, has been the only representative of Washington’s 10th District since it was created in 2012. The district, southwest of Seattle, encompasses the state capital of Olympia and is considered reliably Democratic.

Heck said he had relished much of the work he did in Congress, including serving on the House Intelligence Committee, trying to protect Puget Sound from pollution and helping a soldier receive a Purple Heart after authorities overlooked his injuries. He even enjoyed being one of the House’s foremost experts on monetary policy, he said.

Heck sponsored legislation that the House passed with bipartisan support this year to grant legal marijuana businesses access to banks.

But the work took its toll, and with the Intelligence Committee’s duties on the impeachment inquiry largely concluded, he took time over the Thanksgiving break to reflect on his future. Heck said he wanted to spend more time with his wife of 44 years, Paula, noting that “however many ‘good years’ we have left together is not a growing number.”

He also said he was discouraged by the state of politics, but that dismay did not diminish the gratitude he felt for serving in Congress.

“The countless hours I have spent in the investigation of Russian election interference and the impeachment inquiry have rendered my soul weary,” he wrote.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said the congressman “has fought hard for a strong democracy, been a powerful voice at the national level and is never afraid to do what’s right.”

Rep. Dan Newhouse, a Republican from central Washington, praised Heck’s bipartisan approach. Newhouse said he was proud to have worked with Heck on issues important to the state, including reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank.