Senator Cynthia Lummis, Republican of Wyoming, said on Friday that she would not seek re-election next year after serving one term.
In a statement, Ms. Lummis, who has served in the Senate since 2021, attributed the decision to the grueling weeks in session this year on Capitol Hill. Her departure will tee up a primary in the conservative state of Wyoming.
“Deciding not to run for re-election does represent a change of heart for me, but in the difficult, exhausting session weeks this fall I’ve come to accept that I do not have six more years in me,” Ms. Lummis, 71, said. “I am a devout legislator, but I feel like a sprinter in a marathon. The energy required doesn’t match up.”
Her comment, unusually candid by the standards of staid Washington statements, came after a year on Capitol Hill that included the nation’s longest government shutdown and multiple all-night sessions of votes, including to pass President Trump’s marquee tax and spending cuts legislation. Senators took more than 600 roll call votes this year alone, the most in modern history, according to a G.O.P. leadership aide.
She is one of a growing number of Republicans who have indicated they have little interest in staying in Congress. Two of her colleagues, Senators Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, are running for governor in their respective states; two others, Senators Joni Ernst of Iowa and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, have declined to run for re-election altogether.
In 1978, Ms. Lummis became the youngest woman elected to Wyoming State Legislature, at 24. She went on to win a seat in the House, serving from 2009 to 2017. Ms. Lummis then joined the Senate in 2021, where she was often seen with a smile on her face and a Celsius energy drink in hand.
She quickly became known for her support of the crypto industry, earning the moniker of “Crypto Queen” on Capitol Hill. An early adopter of Bitcoin, she went so far as to edit “laser eyes” into her social media avatars, an image associated with Bitcoin enthusiasts.
Ms. Lummis often cheered — and sometimes led — efforts supported by Mr. Trump to end regulatory crackdowns on crypto companies, including the passage of the Genius Act, a federal framework for stablecoin, which she cosponsored.
“Cynthia is a straight shooter and a trailblazer,” John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said in a statement. “We’re going to miss her infectious energy and iconic laugh in the halls of the U.S. Senate.”
Catie Edmondson covers Congress for The Times.
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